Is Your Business Ready For A Server?

An article in USA Today late last month, caught my eye. Rhonda Abrams, President of The Planning Shop, a publisher of books for entrepreneurs, wrote a story about her experience adding a server to her business and her recent upgrade to Microsoft’s Small Business Server 2008. After many years in the technology business, Rhonda’s story was not different from that of many of our customers. Her article articulated what she and others experience as a small business grows and feels the pains of not having a server.

First, let’s define what a server is and what it does of a company. A server is a master computer where you store the files and programs you need to share among more than one member of your team. It provides a connection among the computers, printers, scanners, internet, etc., and adds simplicity, productivity, and security to your business.

Rhonda, like many small businesses, operated without a server when she first started her company. She shared files by emailing them or, if they were too large to email, by putting them on a disk and walking them over to another employee. At some point, sharing information in this way becomes clumsy and time consuming. This is when Rhonda added a server to her business.

However, there are other reasons to add a server to your business. Businesses add a server to run a line of business application. For example, a doctor, lawyer, or manufacturer may need scheduling, working the line, or financial software. Businesses also add a server for security and privacy. Storing company and customer data on a secure server is far more secure than having that information on an employee’s own computer, and it makes backing-up that information easier.

Here are 6 Additional Signs That Your Business Is Ready for a Server
1) You need (or would like to have) secure access to your computer files when traveling or working from home.
2) You need CRM (customer relationship management) software and accounting programs to manage and communicate with your growing list of client and vendors.
3) You need to allow employees to share databases or other software tools.
4) You would like to send group faxes and email broadcasts to customers.
5) You would like to save money by hosting your own company website and email.
6) You have irreplaceable files and data residing on more than one computer that need to be secured from loss, corruption, or unauthorized access.

The benefit that Rhonda and many other small businesses have found after adding a server, is a significant increase in productivity and lower IT costs, as a properly configured and maintained computer network is easier to support and troubleshoot than a patchwork of computers that are loosely connected. If you are interested in discovering how a server could benefit your business, contact us for a free consultation. Simply call CIO Office at 615-301-1661 or email smiller@ciooffice.com.
Sources: “Strategies: It might be time to get serious about a server” By Rhonda Abrams, USA Today