Small Businesses

Small businesses, for the purpose of this discussion, are from 10 to 25 employees. These businesses face some different challenges and are often a little further down the road technologically.  Peer-to-peer networks are quirky after about five total computers, so these businesses should have a client-server network. Servers bring a great deal of expanded functionality to small business networks, including but not limited to:

 

·         Does file sharing need to be a mining expedition every time I need a file?

·         How can I be sure that all the files I need are always accessible?

·         How can I be absolutely certain that my data is safe?

·         How can I keep employees from downloading dangerous files?

·         Can I outsource the monitoring of my infrastructure?

·         When I 'm on a business trip or vacation, can I access my files from any computer?

 

Often times though, the server in a small business is underutilized and/or inadequately maintained. In today’s computing world, software companies (most notably anti-virus/anti spyware companies and Microsoft) make frequent updates to their software and push those updates to users over the Internet. This is a process best not left to automation.

 

Someone knowledgeable should bear the responsibility for maintaining the server, or that responsibility should be outsourced. In a small business, most of the employees and principals wear too many hats already. Given the specialized knowledge set and importance of maintaining a server, this is a smart task for outsourcing.