Ask
Adam:
Answers
to Your Technology Questions
Question:
When Do I Need to Buy a Server?
Answer: A general rule of thumb is that
by the time you have 5 employees or computers
you probably need to put a server in
place.
Here's
why:
- File
Sharing
By consolidating data
on one server it is easier to share
files,
printers,
and other network resources. Rather
than running from machine to machine
to find files, you always know that
the files you need are located on
the server regardless of which computer
you are on.
- Security
As you grow your company, you have
more and more employees that need
varying levels of access to company
information. For example,
you might only want yourself and
your accounting staff to have access
your QuickBooks files. A server
allows you to deny access to everyone
but yourself and the accounting
department.
- Backups
With all of your data located in one
place, backups are made far easier.
Instead of backing up 5 workstations
you only need to back up one server.
This insures that is a disaster
strikes you are more likely to
be able to recover all of the data
that was lost.
- Remote
Access
As your company grows, you need to
be able to access your company information
when you are out of the office (at
appointments or in Hawaii perhaps).
A server can provide remote access
to all of you corporate data, enabling
you to work as if you were in the
office when you are away.
- Management
The more computer that you have, the
more you have to manage. A server
allows you to centralize the management
of your network on the server.
Instead of making the same change
5 times (one for each workstation),
you only need to make the change
once on the server and the changes
are passed on to all of the client
machines.
As
you can see there are a number
of reasons to invest in a server.
The question of when to do it really
depends on your needs and budget.
If
you think that you might be ready
for a server and would like advice
as to what direction to go, please
feel free to call me and ask. Best
wishes,
Adam
Culich
Roseville IT Consulting
(916) 612-7593
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