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Think a Server’s Too Much for your Small Business?
April 3, 2006: PlanetMagpie Network Support Services
Written by: Chris Williams

Servers clear up IT headaches and help small businesses work more economically

Imagine you’re in a five-person small business. (If that doesn’t need imagining, all the better.) Everyone is located in one office. Rich can’t connect to your PC because the hub between your computers isn’t working again. So he asks you to email him the file he wants. You open your Yahoo mail. You’ve sent him that file three times in the past couple of weeks but it gets passed around the office all the time, so nobody knows who has the “latest” version.

Oops. A hacker was looking around on your system (he broke through your software firewall) and found your email. Now he has access to your company’s credit information. You start getting lots of bills for expensive electronics. How did this happen? What do you do?

There are about 3.2 million small businesses out there that have only 5 or fewer PCs. They often see a full centralized network as “too much.” But by avoiding use of a server-based network, they open themselves up to lots of management and security problems:

• Copies of files get scattered across the PCs. Everybody makes their changes to their local copy. Now they have several versions of the same document, with no continuity and no idea what’s in each copy.
  
  
• Internet access is usually done by connecting each PC directly to the Web. Expensive and time-consuming. Sometimes, companies use a basic router (without configuring it) to share a cable or DSL line instead. Plus, if the router’s wireless, there’s a 64% chance it’s unsecured.
  
  
• File/data transfer is often done through private email accounts (AOL, Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.) or physically moving files from PC to PC on CDs or USB flash drives. There’s no management when it comes to private email or physical file transfer. And no security.
  
  
• Speaking of security, about all that’s done to keep unwanted attention out is installing software firewalls on each PC, like ZoneAlarm or the Windows XP firewall. This is an okay security measure – certainly better than nothing. But without proper configuration and backups, it’s not going to withstand a serious attack.
  
  
• And backups? Maybe one or two PCs – “the important ones” – get backed up to CD or a second hard drive once in a while. When the user remembers to do it. According to IDC, 60% of small businesses don’t backup at all.
  
  
• In a decentralized setup like this, each PC has to have individual licensing for its software. Software licensing is the largest expense for small business IT budgets. Windows, Office, Adobe, any specialized programs…those costs add up fast.
  
  
• Finally, hardware is hard to share. If you want to print on Kathy’s printer, you need to email or walk your file over to her system and ask her to print it for you.

Many small companies solve nearly all of these problems by taking one simple action: installing a server. Yet 40% of those 3.2 million companies still don’t have a server. They don’t know about the benefits to security and management servers provide.

• Centralized data management. Everything goes on the server. Everyone makes their changes on the server. No more worrying about who’s got which file today.

• Handle network access & email in one place. Servers manage Internet and email accounts all from one location, cutting connection costs and making users’ Internet accounts secure & easy to use.
  
  
• Automatic backups you don’t need to worry about. Avoid disaster recovery nightmares. Since the data is in one place, backing it all up is simple. Servers include routines to run backups at any time you want. Set them once and you’ll never have to think, “Is today a backup day?”
  
  
• Reinforced security with Central Management. Server software makes it easy to lock down your data and your network. It also provides an additional layer of protection, for itself and for the network.
  
  
• More productive employees. A Forbes.com study showed that small businesses using Windows Small Business Server 2003 reported a 20% boost in productivity over businesses that had no server.
  
  
• Lower support and maintenance costs. Servers can handle updates for all their PCs automatically, eliminating the time you’d otherwise have to put in to do each one. Plus, one server-based business license is more cost-effective than multiple individual licenses.

With all the problems it solves, it’s easy to see the value of having a server for your small business. As certified Small Business Specialists, PlanetMagpie engineers have installed dozens of small business servers. We’ve seen firsthand how they cut out downtime and dramatically improve users’ productivity.

Further Reference: At the Microsoft Small Business Center, http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness, you can find a bunch of resources to help you make a decision – expert advice, tips for productivity, technology reviews for comparisons, and more.

PlanetMagpie's engineers are specialized in small business network planning, network implementation, and network troubleshooting. PlanetMagpie serves serves small businesses in San Jose, Bay Area, California and nationwide.

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