The back of a server rack showing all the different ports and cables.

Server Solutions – Get The Right Server For Your Small Business

As your business continues to grow, your computing requirements will grow with it. Choosing the right server for your business can be confusing and overwhelming. This article will walk you through the basics and help you decide which server may best suit your company’s needs.

Spoiled For Choice?

There are a lot of big names in the technology world offering server solutions including, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Lenovo, IBM, Oracle, Fujitsu and many more.

No wonder it’s confusing choosing a server when there are so many so choose from!

The biggest factor that will determine which server you use is the type of applications that you intend to run. Applications can include email programs, printers and various databases.

If you have less than ten employees, all of whom use a computer, and all you need is basic file sharing, backups and remote access then a server such as a Windows 2016 Essentials Server would suffice.

However, if you are a larger business with more than 10 employees, all of whom also require computer access, you will need a more powerful server.

The number of databases you run will also have an effect on the server you choose. If you have many databases, or fewer but more complex databases you will need a larger, more powerful server to cope with the demand.

Does your business use a Customer Relationship Management tool?

Typically, a CRM is a very sophisticated server based application that requires a powerful server to keep it running quickly and smoothly.

Storage is also a factor that will determine which server you choose. Does your business store a lot of files, customer data or anything similar that takes up a lot of storage space? The greater your storage requirements the larger and more powerful your server will need to be.

Smaller businesses could manage with a Windows 2016 Essentials Server running on modest server class hardware or even a NAS, which stands for Network Attached Storage.

NAS (Network Attached Storage)

NAS devices are affordable and easy to use because they don’t usually require much maintenance.

The next step would be a Windows 2016 Standard Server running on more powerful hardware. Such a server would have a fast CPU, plenty of RAM and more than enough hard drive space to satisfy most small businesses.

Bigger servers are more expensive, slightly more complex to run and they do require a mouse, keyboard and monitor.

Rack Servers

Next, you have Rack Servers. Essentially, a rack allows you to store many servers in a small space. They are scalable, have huge amounts of memory and storage that would be sufficient for most small business.

Rack servers are more expensive but if your business has many employees, requires a lot of storage and runs complex databases, it is money well spent.

Every business is different and it is important that you choose the right server to suit your needs. If you get this wrong it could end up costing you time, effort and money – something that every small business wants to avoid!

Contact Bean IT to discuss your company server requirements on 0121 667 8977 or email info@beanit.co.uk

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