How to Choose a Server for Your Business

Serving the right server for your needs can be a difficult thing; this article will give you a better idea of what will be a good fit from online servers to in house hardware.

There are 3 types of servers available; cloud computing, home servers, and business servers.

What to take into account:

• The applications you intend to run

• If you have 10+ employees

• If you need a print or email server

• Use a complex database

• Run PC-based (as opposed to online) applications

• If you need a lot of storage

• If you are file sharing

• Whether you require automated client back-up

Cloud Computing

Saving and backing-up your documents, running application, analysing data and sharing files via the cloud server has many benefits:

• Flexibility – extend and reduce your bandwidth as necessary

• Disaster Recovery – a faster and better process to recover lost documents

• Automatic Updates – no need to manually update software and waste time as it’ll all be handled for you

• Improved Collaboration – sync up on documents and receive real-time project updates

• Work from anywhere – as long as you have internet access, you can retrieve your documents and get to work

• Document Control – share documents with multiple editors around the world

• Environmentally friendly – less energy consumption, carbon emissions and energy costs

• Competitiveness – smaller businesses can react to issues faster than larger companies relying on advanced back-up systems

However, it is also worth noting that technical issues are further out of your control than there would be with an hardware office server, you rely on a 3rd party and trust them with your data and your information may be more vulnerable to cyber-attacks, so while it’s a more affordable option it might not be the best option depending on the data that you’re wanting store in the Cloud and how sensitive it is to your business. But if you’re not very technical then the support you receive from a Cloud server might be a good option. But the cloud doesn’t suit every home or business user due to the above reasons.

[Read more: Top Five Benefits of Cloud Computing (For Entrepreneurs)]

Home Servers

Ideal for:

• File sharing

• Automated client back-up

• Remote PC access

• And for less than 10 employees

The best brands:

• HP

• Netgear

• QNAP

• Seagate

• Synology

Business Servers

Depending on your business needs there are three types of servers to choose from; tower, rack or blade. If you are a growing company I would recommend the HP Tower because it is easy to use and a great starter option for if you are upgrading from a home to business server. HP’s servers are globally recognized as resilient, dependable and affordable so they are a safe bet if you’re buying a first-time server and don’t have a whole lot of technical know-how. Other brands that also offer a good quality server are IBM, Fujitsu, Asus, Dell and Lenovo depending on your needs.

Ideal for:

• Growing businesses

• Those needing an efficient and functional solution

• Budget-conscious businesses

• Limited access to IT resources or no dedicated IT staff