I really hate upgrading servers. In order to upgrade, the server usually has to stop serving for a little while, and as the name “server” implies, this isn’t really desirable. In addition, there’s often too much art and not enough science in an upgrade. “Oh dear,” you hear someone say at three in the morning. “The test machine didn’t do that. We’re going to have to change the plan a little.”Photo courtesy of stofiska and is reproduced with permission

Upgrading servers is painful. Plus, what you end up with, after a few upgrades, is a server that you probably don’t know how to rebuild if needed — after all, it just grew that way over time! One of my personal philosophies is to avoid doing things that are painful and have poor results (which is incidentally also why I rarely play sports).

So, here are three reasons why you can often avoid upgrading servers in the cloud:

1. Virtual machines are disposable in the cloud.

Yes, just like paper plates, Styrofoam cups and plastic forks, except without the environmental consequences. You snap your fingers, and one appears. You give it the “thumbs down” gesture, and it disappears back into the dust from whence it came. Your data needs to remain persistent, but the computing power (CPU and RAM) can be created and destroyed as needed.

2. There’s always a spare machine around when you need one in the cloud.

Most clouds have a characteristic called “rapid elasticity,” meaning that you can scale your usage up or down almost instantly and there will be resources available. This means that you can “float” additional virtual machines for a while. Plus, most cloud services are billed in short time intervals, such as hourly. Even if your budget is very tight, you can probably afford to run two copies of your application for a few hours or days.

3. You can automate creation and deletion of these disposable, spare machines in the cloud.

Invest some time creating an automated server build script that uses the cloud’s Application Programming Interface (API) to provision a server on the cloud, install the latest “production-ready” version of your application and run some tests against it. This is probably just an extension of existing automated build scripts that you have.

With the ingredients above, the next time you need to upgrade your application you can simply create a new instance of the application. Use your build script to provision a new server that has the correct OS configurations, middleware software and the latest version of your application. Test the new server, then substitute the new server for the old one. If the new one doesn’t work, put the old one back into place; if the new one works, toss the old server in the virtual landfill. You get a fresh server each time, and you know exactly how it was created and that there are no surprises lurking there, waiting until three a.m. on the next upgrade cycle.

Most applications do have persistent data, so you have to have a way to maintain data consistency when creating new instances of the application. This is a solvable problem for most applications by using the correct architecture — keeping the data separate from the application — and data replication strategies. In some cases, you might still have to perform an upgrade on the database server (if it’s not feasible to create a new instance of it), but you may also be using a platform as a service database service that allows you to take a database snapshot from the old production instance and create a new database from that.

There’s nothing especially revolutionary about not upgrading servers; this is how we’ve treated code for a long time. The difference is that, with cloud technologies, we can now treat the infrastructure (such as the virtual machine hosting the application) as if it’s part of the code.

If you’re upgrading to new accounting software, you of course want to make sure that it has all the right capabilities and functionality your accounting team needs to do their jobs. But to increase efficiency throughout your company and really get the most out of that new technology investment, you need to prioritize integrations when searching for a new solution. Seamless integrations between your accounting system and popular add-on software providers (or even your own proprietary systems) can save time, eliminate errors, increase productivity and make it easier to develop insights that will help your company grow. Here are the top accounting software integrations every small to medium size business (SMB) needs in 2021.

CRM integrations

There are a lot of benefits to integrating accounting software and CRM systems. For starters, a seamless connection between your two solutions can save accountants and sales professionals valuable time because they no longer have to manually enter financial data into your CRM system. This reduces the risk of information being entered incorrectly. An integration can also streamline the invoicing process and update CRM records automatically when invoices are paid, ensuring your sales and marketing teams are always working with the latest and most accurate data. In the big picture, the increased connectivity that comes with a CRM integration makes it easier to identify connections between earned revenue and specific sales and marketing activities.

When looking for a new accounting solution, consider if (and how easily) the system can connect to popular CRM products like Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE (aka Microsoft CRM). Combining financials, marketing, sales and service data together on one platform can provide a boost to productivity and efficiency by giving all teams the information they need to respond to opportunities and execute long-term strategies.

Accounts payable and receivable platforms

Many companies rely on individual accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) solutions to handle those aspects of their financial operations. So, it seems like a no-brainer to connect these systems with your in-house accounting software. Integrating with a solution like Bill.com makes it easy to share financial data with a bill payment platform and streamline AP and AR processes. To make it easier for your accounting team to create and pay bills, send invoices and ultimately get paid, consider accounting software that offers seamless integrations to top payments platforms.

Data analytics solutions

The rise in accounting automation and the elimination of manual tasks means that accountants now have more time to dive into financial data and provide real insights for the organization. But in a world where companies are collecting more data than ever before, that can be difficult, if not impossible, without the right tools. That’s why you should look for the best accounting software for medium sized business with data analytics capabilities and integrations to business intelligence tools. Solutions like Microsoft Power BI can help unpack your financial and operational data, identifying trends and opportunities that would otherwise be missed. At a time when accountants are increasingly relied on for insights and analysis, not executing routine processes, integrations with data analytics tools empower your accounting personnel to deliver extraordinary value for your company.

Collaboration tools

In this age of remote work (which makes cloud-based accounting software more important than ever), you not only need innovative ways for technology systems to talk to each other, but also your personnel. Collaboration tools exploded in popularity and necessity during the pandemic, but they will continue to be vitally important as companies transition to hybrid work environments and more people stay home. That’s why you should look for accounting software that has ready-built integrations with collaboration tools that make it easy for employees to stay connected and share important information.

For example, Gravity Software^® (Gravity) is the only accounting software available that integrates natively with Microsoft Teams. This means you can work directly within the Teams interface and share financial information via Teams quickly, easily and securely. That kind of fluid collaboration allows your teams to move faster on opportunities while eliminating the hassle of migrating data between systems.

Business productivity apps

Many businesses rely on Microsoft 365 (aka Office 365) products to manage everyday tasks. That’s why it’s important to have accounting software that can integrate with these essential business productivity apps. It’s easy to overlook these tools, but you may be surprised how difficult some accounting systems make it to generate documents in a format that’s easy to use.

Even as businesses use better accounting software to move away from spreadsheets and static documents, it’s likely you’ll still use these tools in some format. So, choosing an accounting solution that connects seamlessly to these basic programs can make it easier to share information across your organization and increase efficiency.

When looking for the best accounting software for medium sized business, the most important thing will always be making sure your accounting team has what they need. But focusing only on what technology can do for your accounting department is missing the larger opportunity. Think of accounting software as one piece of your greater technology puzzle. By choosing a solution that fits seamlessly with your other systems, you can increase efficiency, eliminate manual tasks and improve productivity while maximizing all of your technology investments.

Looking for accounting software with all these integrations and more? Contact Gravity to schedule a demo to see how our unique solution could help drive efficiency throughout your organization.