Payroll system and File Sharing for Child Protection Board

Question: Discuss about the Payroll system and File Sharing for Child Protection Board. Answer: Introduction Sydney based Child Protection board is one of the most popular social enterprises in that area. It also has branches in Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia. Their payroll system is currently managed by the staff of the organization. And, the payroll system they use is completely manual. It is currently handled over Excel files and data is exchanges with the help of Dropbox. Over the time, their payroll system have been getting burdened by newer and complex requirements which have been leading them to hire most staff to handle the increased work. There have also been huge amount of data being generated for this which is becoming difficult to handle by the team manually. To help them do their work effectively there is an urgent requirement of digital payroll solution. The Management would prefer a cloud platform over local platform to keep the cost low for the transition. Another key process File Sharing is another area for which they are looking for cloud based digital solution is File Sharing. In this report different cloud based payroll options and file sharing options would be explored apprehend cloud based systems security implications for Child Protection Board. Following analysis will assist the board take call on the Cloud based solutions for Payroll system and File sharing for Child Protection Board and its deployment for them. Cloud delivery - Deployment modules For the requirements of Child protection Board PaaS model for cloud deployment is advised as this will be easier for them to develop as well as modify it later as per their future requirements and needs. With this their file sending, application testing and development of outlines would be very streamlined. There are several other benefits also that they would have access to are cost adequacy, better security, more uptime and better software adaptability. Apart from this it is also advised that the model is deployed over private cloud that can be operated remotely. With this organisation would be able to achieve far better security system, better customization and will also get dedicated assets. (CSA, 2011). Impact on the current staff There are several other benefits that the cloud based service model would be extending to the existing staff of Child Protection Board which includes: This will enable employees to work even from outside the office. As its services would be readily accessible online. This in turn improve their productivity (Bughin, et al., 2011). Another advantage of could system is that the company data will be stored over cloud. And, thus the data will never be lost and would remain unharmed therefor, safe even in case of local computers or equipment getting damaged or in the case of local data getting lost. With digitization many manual operations that the staffs are doing currently will become automated. Thus, works will be faster and easier for the employees. Exchange of documents will be faster and easier with the help of cloud based solution. This will also felicitate integration with external centres for file sharing. Cloud vendors Payroll Services Solution Payment Model Optus Ninefold Cloud Central Cloud GB Storage based payment model $0.3 per hour at start $0.092 per hour at start Storage Allowance CPU per hour payment model $0.0175 per hour at start $0.002 per hour at start $0.025 per hour at start Data Exchange Type of Solution Xero- Operating cost MYOB- Operating cost Intuit QuickBooks- Operating cost Basic $9 per month $50 per month $12 per month Advanced /Premium $70 per month $99 per $21 per month Information security One of the key concerns for any of the data driven solutions especially over the cloud system, used by an organization is Security of their data. With the advent of cloud based system there has also been a rise in incidents of the data theft over cloud. Many bigger as well as smaller companies have fallen victim to their data falling in the hands of wrong people. Stolen data can be misused by the miscreants and at times it costs the victim organisation dearly. Therefore, it is essential that the information security levels of the cloud vendors are explored to make a choice for the desired solution. Security features of the various solution providers are listed and compared below: Cloud Based Solution Security Features Nine Fold Macquarie cloud services have recently acquired. They have locally data centers and they make sure to man and protect their systems physically. (Macquarie Telecom , 2016). Intuit QuickBooks They provide a 24 hours solution for data protection. This is achieved through a monitoring tool that is automated and which also keeps checking the servers performance for its optimum uses. There is a committed staff available round the clock especially for alarm management and video scrutiny in case of any incident of data breaches. They also provide a fully automated off-site means to store and create data backups. Apart from this, all activity of users logging in to system is assessed and recorded with the help of their in house developed ingenuous features like Audit trail and Always-On Activity Logging(Intuit QuickBooks, 2014). XERO Best feature of the services provided by Xero is that their servers are physically taken care of and are protected round the clock by 24 hour security guards, biometric systems and authorized staff. Specialists regularly audit the security of cloud and submit the reviewed and audited reports to continuously improve the system. Cloud can be accessed through a two factor rigorous authentication processes that involves password based log as well as authenticator code generated on the smartphone app of the authorized user. Apart from these, the company also delivers multi-layered security through protection systems, firewalls, intrusion detection and routers(Xero, 2016). MYOB A user Account feature developed by AccountRight is used by MYOB to implement strong password protection. Under this, their administrator has option to decide on the rights of every users according to the tasks that are to be performed apart from the files that needs to be accessed(MYOB, 2016). System also allows uses to prevent unauthorized changes made in the files by locking of important company files and documents stored its online server(MYOB, 2016). Cloud Central Cloud Central uses a secure private system for the purpose of file sharing between ports over the cloud. They provide an access which is at full root level so that the company or organization has a thorough control over the data used by all stakeholders and also over various processes that are carried over the cloud system (CloudCentral, 2016). Optus Optus offers complete end-to-end security options and solutions which can be purchased separately. It has a 6 security levels which includes detection and prevention, firewall protection, content security, intrusion, secure remote access, application control, site-to-site VPN, and anti-virus. They provide next generation firewall with provisions like address translations, stateful inspection, central administrative traffic, audit logs, anti-spoofing and high level layer filters. Apart from security assurance, they also offer a complete performance reports which comprises basic intelligences on systems uptime, memory usage, CPU usage, etc., network security reports, IPS reports, user activity reports and reports for URL filtering(Optus, 2016). Basis the evaluation of different cloud based systems, Intuit QuickBooks is suggested due to its low cost as well as its good security features for the purpose of file sharing and payroll management. For payroll services, lowest costing Ninefold was also considered but this is acquired by another firm and is probably being discontinued. The next most suitable option can be Optus which is also available at lower price. This also offers some advanced security features and options. References Bughin, J., Corb, L., Manyika, J., Nottebohm, O., Chui, M., Barbat, B. d., Said, R. (2011). The impact of Internet technologies: Search. McKinsey Company. Macquarie Telecom . (2016, September 13). Private Cloud. This ones just for you. Retrieved from Macquarie Cloud Services: https://macquariecloudservices.com/private-cloud/ CloudCentral. (2016, September 13). Cloud Servers. Retrieved from Cloud Central: https://www.cloudcentral.com.au/products/infrastructure-as-a-service/cloud-servers/ CSA. (2011). SECURITY GUIDANCE FOR CRITICAL AREAS OF FOCUS IN CLOUD COMPUTING V3.0. CSA. MYOB. (2016, September 13). Company file security. Retrieved from MYOB: https://help.myob.com/wiki/display/ar/Company+file+security Intuit QuickBooks. (2014). Security you can trust7 reasons to believe. Intuit QuickBooks. MYOB. (2016, September 13). Protecting your confidential information. Retrieved from MYOB: https://myob.com.au/myob/australia/myob-security-recommendations-1257829253909 Xero. (2016, September 13). Your data is safe with multiple layers of security. Retrieved from Xero: https://www.xero.com/accounting-software/security/ Optus. (2016). Security in the cloud. Optus.