How to choose the Best Server for a small or mid-size business
Many people and businesses store and share their data on external devices, or across a handful of PCs. Accessing and sharing of the information will eventually become impractical. While it may seem practical and cost effective, it poses a great risk to your private and sensitive information should these devices crash or end up in the wrong hands. For businesses, it is inefficient, risky and unsecure. Worse still, it’s a situation that will only increase as your business grows.
The most efficient way to maximize the availability and security of your business data where it can be managed and protected from a central point. Buying a server may seem more intimidating than buying another piece of technology, it helps to have some basic information in mind when choosing a server that best suits your business needs. Have a read below for some of the minimum criteria to keep in mind when choosing a server for your business.
Small Business Server Storage Capacity
The primary purpose of any functioning server is to store, share and protect files and data. Therefore, the storage capacity of any server becomes a crucial consideration.
Depending on your type of business, will impact how much storage you will need. For example, a business that deals with photos or high-resolution videos will require more storage to store all the large format files. A business that deals with smaller file types such as documents and spreadsheets may require considerably less storage than the former. It is business and file dependent, but a general rule of thumb is to always overestimate your storage needs. This allows for eventual future growth and more capacity to store what you value most.
Buy the right operating system
As with your PC’s and hardware, choosing the best operating system for your business is vital to ensure that applications communicate with one another and that they have adequate stability. Similarly, servers too need an operating system to manage the hundreds of requests for data it needs to handle at any given time.
You will need an operating system that will be around for a long time with frequent security and stability updates.
Support and maintenance
Find a company that is able to meet your needs and deliver dedicated IT support. By using a company that understands IT support, would mean that you are able to mitigate risk on the security of your server, ensure that they are able to deal with necessary upgrades and maintenance, as well being best advised on what storage options you will need. Being smart about purchasing server capacity means understanding how your business uses data. Knowing this will make your decision much clearer, far less risky and cost effective.
Understanding your business and how you use data, is important to deciding what server will work best for your business. In the information age, accessibility and storage will become an ever-increasing necessity for any business in remaining relevant, consistent and timely. Choose a server that meets your needs for now and into the future.
Are you a mid-size business in need of a server? Feel free to visit our site: www.techtron.co.za and see how we offer the best deal for you and your business.