Cloud & infrastructure for accountancy
Infrastructure that holds up in January and stays predictable the rest of the year
Accountancy practices live on practice software, Microsoft 365 and email. Cloud and infrastructure has to make that stack fast, secure and recoverable - especially around busy season - without becoming a partnership topic every quarter.
Looking at the bigger picture across IT support, cyber, AI and digital transformation? See the full accountancy technology overview.
Why it matters
Cloud & infrastructure in accountancy earns its keep when it joins the business together
Most UK practices now run practice software either hosted or in private cloud, plus Microsoft 365 holding a decade of client documents. Small decisions about hosting, identity and connectivity have outsized effects when busy season hits.
Done well, infrastructure becomes something partners don't think about. Done badly, it shows up as a slow practice software experience in January, surprise Azure bills, and a DR position that has never been tested.
What the work covers
What cloud and infrastructure work looks like in a accountancy business
Practice software hosting done properly
IRIS, CCH or similar hosted on a known reference, sized for busy season, with performance defended monthly.
Microsoft 365 and identity as the spine
Entra ID, conditional access and a clean tenant baseline that everything else plugs into.
Backup and DR that has been tested
Off-tenant Microsoft 365 backup, practice software DR and a documented recovery time partners trust.
FinOps so spend is defensible
Tagging, budgets and a monthly conversation that the operating partner can challenge.
What needs to be in place
The foundations a accountancy cloud partner expects to see
Identity that everything plugs into
Entra ID with conditional access and privileged access management taken seriously.
Monitoring that catches the busy-season risks
Coverage of practice software, Microsoft 365 and the inbound mail path, with response defined.
Hybrid working without leaks
OneDrive, SharePoint and personal device policy tightened so hybrid working doesn't leak client data.
Patch and policy hygiene
Patching cadence, baseline policies and change control that respect busy season.
What good looks like
A partner who has done this in accountancy before saves you the first year of learning
A practice-aware infrastructure partner has been through a January with a hosting problem and knows how to avoid one. They'll make practice software fast, Microsoft 365 reliable and DR something the partnership can see demonstrated.
Busy season stops being an IT survival exercise, partners stop asking why the software is slow, and the next office or merger plugs into a known reference.
Outcomes you should expect
- Practice software hosting on a known, performant reference
- Microsoft 365 baseline that meets ICO expectations
- DR position documented, tested and trusted by partners
- Cloud spend understood and defensible
Tell us about your size, your practice software and how busy season is hosted today. We'll match you with a UK partner that already runs infrastructure for accountancy firms.
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