Just as your money is safer in a bank than at home, your data is safer in SnapGrades' state-of-the-art data center than on your own servers, and more cost effective too! Originally, school districts stored their data on-site because it was more secure and faster, but that was before the advancement of Transport Layer Security (TLS/SSL) and high-speed broadband. Modern-day businesses are now moving toward Cloud Computing and Application Service Providers (ASP) for better cost, scalability, and security, yet many schools are still entrenched in their pre-Internet policies. By moving your data offsite, you can improve security and get the most from your IT budget, especially in times of tough budget cuts.

Your primary concern is to prevent hackers from looking at private student records and making changes. Because these web-based systems make grades available on the web for teachers and parents, hackers will try to access your data over the Internet, so it no longer matters where the servers are physically located. Because SnapGrades serves hundreds of schools, we have more resources for security than any one district can afford:

•	We have several staff on duty 24x7x365, and several certified network security specialists.
•	Our data center is tightly secured with biometric scanners, keycards, and surveillance cameras.
•	TLS/SSL encryption prevents hackers from intercepting your data over the Internet.
•	Our servers automatically detect any suspicious activity and alert you immediately by email.
•	Even if you accidentally reveal your password to a hacker, you can always review all changes to grades and restore them anytime.
•	Our servers run Red Hat Enterprise Linux and automatically install the latest security patches.
•	All our staff go through thorough background checks.
•	Of course your data belongs to you, so you can download it any time.

Because SnapGrades serves hundreds of schools, we can leverage economy-of-scale. Unlike traditional on-site systems which require a large up-front purchase plus annual service fees, SnapGrades gives you a lower Total Cost of Ownership:

•	No up-front purchase costs!
•	You can save thousands on your IT budget because you don't need to purchase any servers or spend days maintaining them.
•	Because SnapGrades is subscription based, you don't need to pass a bond or pay financing charges to fund a large purchase, and you can cancel any year, so your risks are minimal. (That gives us even more incentive to provide you with excellent service; whereas on-site solutions know they have you locked in for five to ten years.)

With traditional on-site systems, you must install your own servers, load balancers, SSL certificate, system patches, and software upgrades, and back up your own data every night. That's not easy, which is why so many schools have so much downtime with their email and SIS's. But SnapGrades makes it much easier for you:

•	Nothing to install! SnapGrades is already up and running. You can start your account right now!
•	We back up your data every night automatically.
•	We do all upgrades on our end seamlessly, so you're always running the newest version.
•	Our severs are extremely high capacity with ample bandwidth, so even with thousands of users logged in simultaneously, most web pages are served in half a second. (If you have limited bandwidth on your end of the network, you may experience slower speeds.)
•	Our architecture is scalable so we can easily add more schools.
•	To avoid downtime, we use RAID-10 redundant hard drives, redundant routers and network providers, redundant air conditioners and filters, redundant Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) and redundant emergency power generators.