A fast-growing medical device startup with employees spread across the U.S. needed to run QuickBooks Enterprise (for advanced inventory management) and All Orders by NumberCruncher (an order management system) in a remote-work environment. Both applications traditionally run on a local server and network for optimal performance, which posed a challenge for a fully distributed team
Challenge
The startup’s remote workforce relied on QuickBooks Enterprise (desktop version) for accounting and inventory, alongside All Orders by NumberCruncher to handle orders and inventory tracking.
These two systems integrate closely and typically need to reside on the same local network to avoid latency issues. However, the company had no central office or on-premises server – their team of employees and contractors was scattered nationwide. Setting up a physical server in one location (and requiring everyone to connect via VPN or RDP) would have introduced complexity, latency, and security exposure.
They needed a solution that allowed everyone to access the software quickly and securely from anywhere, without being tied to a single office network or significant investment in IT infrastructure.
Solution
Airspeed IT designed and implemented a scalable AWS cloud solution that met all the client’s needs. The core of the solution was an Amazon EC2 Windows server hosting QuickBooks Enterprise and the All Orders database, all in the cloud. To provide fast and secure access for remote users, Airspeed IT deployed Amazon WorkSpaces (AWS’s managed virtual desktop service). Each employee or contractor received a cloud-based Windows desktop that could run QuickBooks and All Orders as if they were on a local office network. This approach ensured that:
- Seamless Remote Access: Employees could log into their AWS Workspace from anywhere and use QuickBooks and All Orders with LAN-like speed and responsiveness. The cloud desktops and the EC2 server resided in the same AWS environment, eliminating the latency that a long-distance connection would normally introduce.
- Easy Scalability: The company could scale from 5 to 50 employees (and beyond) by simply provisioning more WorkSpaces or increasing server capacity – no new hardware or major reconfiguration needed. The cloud setup was ready to grow with their business, so onboarding new users or expanding the system was quick and cost-efficient.
- Security and Data Control: No sensitive data ever lived on personal laptops – all QuickBooks files and order data stayed on the secure AWS cloud server and desktops. This means even contractors accessed the system without downloading or storing company data locally. The entire environment was locked down with AWS security features, ensuring data was encrypted, protected, and monitored.
- Reliability and Backup: The cloud server and virtual desktops were highly available and professionally managed. Airspeed IT set up regular cloud backups and snapshots for the QuickBooks and All Orders data, so everything was backed up and could be easily recovered if needed. The AWS infrastructure provided uptime and redundancy far beyond a typical in-house server setup.
- Contractor-Friendly Setup: Because work was done inside secure cloud desktops, the company could confidently grant temporary access to contractors or third parties. When a contractor’s project was done, their Workspace could be disabled in a click – no concern about leftover data on a personal device. This flexibility allowed the startup to use external talent without compromising security.
The Results
- Rapid Pain-Free Scaling
- Full Remote Productivity
- Enhanced Security & Compliance
- Minimal IT Overhead
- Future-Proof Solution
