Small Business Server 2008

Small Business Server (SBS) has been around since the late 90’s, a lifetime in computer years. It’s gone through 5 complete overhauls, including the newest version 2008.  IT Pro’s have had a love hate relationship with the operating system (OS) since its inception. The newest version SBS 2008 (Standard or Premium) has made a lot of great enhancements that were needed for small businesses. Microsoft has also released a new product made for the medium business market called Essential Business Server (EBS). This separation between SBS for the small business and EBS for the medium business is at the least a sign that Microsoft is listening to the small to medium business (SMB) market. Microsoft caught a lot of gruff from the online community saying that a company with 75 users was a “medium” business, and that old SBS products would suffice.

SBS is a wonderful product for companies that are small (1-75 computer users) and growing steadily. This is not a product for companies that are expecting or experiencing explosive growth.  SBS takes an integrated approach and bundles the following products:

• Server 2008 - file sharing, printing, security
• Exchange 2007 - Email and collaboration
• SharePoint 3.0 - Collaboration and productivity
• SUS - Internal Windows Update for your network
• 120 - day trial version of OneCare and Forefront Security - Microsoft’s server, workstation, and email antivirus
• SQL 2008 - database services

There are two editions of SBS called Premium and Standard. The standard edition comes with everything above except for the database server (SQL 2008). Premium edition also comes with an additional server license so you can move SQL to a second server. Past versions did not allow this and would require you to migrate to a different product. This is always costly and time consuming, neither of which any business wants to hear.

The biggest improvement for the 2008 version is the requirement of a 64-bit architecture. The technical reasons for a 64-bit architecture are too much for this article, but you can think about it like this: Your computer is like a car, and the difference between a 32-bit and 64-bit architecture is like the difference between a V6 and a V12 engine. If you’re really interested in all the technical details this site will have more than enough information to get you started. The bigger engine is long overdue for a product that wants to run applications that larger organizations put on several different servers.

Exchange and SharePoint are two awesome products that allow an organization to collaborate in a more familiar way… through the web. These two products allow you to share office documents, contacts, calendars, and just about any other type of information you can think of with people inside and outside your organization.

Bringing The “Cloud” to You

Virtualization is a key component to the future of technology for every business. It impacts areas from green computing to hardware being independent of the software. Cisco Systems and other companies are taking this to the next level developing what’s called “grid” or “cloud” computing. Using this type of technology companies can design applications that spread the load across multiple servers without actually having multiple servers. Great…a cost savings affects the bottom line for the big guys, but how can “Joe the Plumber” make virtualization work for him?

Think about how long it takes your “IT Guy” to reload Windows on a computer after you get a virus or some kind of malware. He has to load applications, drivers for all the hardware, setup your software, etc. Once he is done, you have to setup all your personal settings again so you are as productive as you were before. The cost of the IT Guy’s time and your own effort can be quite substantial. Now let’s fast forward a few years and watch that same scenario with a virtualized system. Your IT Guy connects remotely and tells you to save whatever you are working on. After a quick reboot and a few minutes to automatically install all your software the PC is exactly the way it was before you had problems.

This is possible because virtualization gives IT the ability to create a standardized setup for all users in a company then have specific software distributed to each system. Add to that the ability to backup just the settings and personal data we want. Seems like a bit of a dream, a half days process turned into a few minutes of productivity lost. I am sure all of us can do the math and see what kind of cost savings that can be for a small business with 5 or 50 users. That same scenario can be applied to servers and applications that your business would use.

Some of this technology is available now, with ghosting or imaging computers. However today’s options can be an expensive scenario for small businesses because of the costs for capacity, storage space, and application licensing fees. For all this to work hardware independence is a must. Currently your operating system (Microsoft Windows) is tied to the hardware you are using. Which means when you replace a major component i.e. motherboard, processor, etc… Windows should be reinstalled. Making sure the operating system and software that’s running does not care whether the computer has a new motherboard, or a faster processor is what virtualization adds to the picture. From the workstation perspective these types of solutions are just coming around, but when they do arrive they will be adopted quickly by manufacturers. It turns into a big cost for the largest companies that can justify the return in a few years of saved support costs, but for a small business the return usually can’t be justified in a reasonable time.

Servers are a whole other story as their technology becomes another commodity for your business. Gone are the days of needing to spend $10k on a server in the office just to have another added next year when you grow out of it. With virtualization you can upgrade existing servers with a few clicks. If you find out you are growing too fast you will just click a few more times to increase the capacity on whatever component is causing the slowdown.

The server technology will be here (for the little guy) and easily available before the workstation dream becomes a reality. Even over time, the cost savings involved in a few hundred dollars a month instead of several thousand dollar purchases can be substantial.
With virtualization, your data and systems become a bunch of bits to be backed up or moved where ever they need to be…on the fly.

Business Reconnaissance

Information about businesses in Southwest Florida or the business climate can be a bit hard to find. Sure there are some pretty decent offerings, Gulfshore Business is chocked full of business goodness with timely information and tips for business owners, as is their daily newsletter. The News-Press has a small business section with a least a page and a half about local business. Bonita Business was started in direct response to the lack of hearty information provided to residents in Lee and Collier Counties.

But, besides a few local publications what can you use when doing research or how can you stay abreast of the latest developments in your field? It’s simple:

Google Alerts

Google Alerts are simple, but incredibly powerful. This technology has implications for your business across many different facets - really any in which timely information is key. Before going into the benefits and how you can use it let me explain what it is:

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

In a nutshell, you give Google alerts a series of words (keyterms) and then as things develop or happen on the web regarding those things, you are instantly notified, via an email. So, for example lets say you are curious how your company “Bob’s Example Company XYZ” is being talked about on the web. You setup an alert and the minute your name “Bob’s Example Company XYZ” is mentioned THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE WEB you will be notified.

So beside’s vanity searches, what else is this tool good for?

• Finding the latest news & info on your industry - to report on if you have a blog or website (great source of inspiration and ideas)
• Research on your own company and brand
• Business Reconnaissance on your competition
• Local business climate information

Outside of a business setting it also has many applications. One that comes to mind is instantly knowing all of the information on a given stock or company as it happens if you are an avid investor.

Google Alerts, although simple in nature is an incredibly powerful tool that any business owner or soon-to-be business owner should incorporate into their array of tools.

Southwest Florida Small Business Technology

So, we’ve recruited a fantastic company to provide business technology related articles pertaining to our local Southwest Florida (Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Naples, Estero) audience, but until the articles start coming in I thought I would throw my 2 cents in regarding technology.

First of all as a business owner, or someone thinking about running a business, keep an open mind when it comes to technology. Like an article I recently read on business week, technologies, particularly the Internet, are lowering the barriers to business, reducing costs, increasing efficiency (and subsequently customer satisfaction). Technology is not electronics, technology is not wires, technology is not something for only geeks who play dungeons and dragons (which, by the way is the single biggest group on MeetUp.com for the Southwest Florida area).

No, technology need not be complicated, and if you keep an open mind or perspective, you can really use it to your benefit.

Let me rephrase that, although the implementation, customization, or actual grunt portion of technology may be involved, complicated, specialized, the end results, and uses should be what you are primarily concerned with. What immediately comes to mind when I think of technology is the uproar of jobs being outsourced to India. This has been a hot debate for quite sometime. For a period many jobs were being shipped or outsourced overseas, and for good reason. Inexpensive labor, and quality work made it attractive. Unfortunately, as has been evidenced by some call centers switching back to the US, communication is also an important part, perhaps the most important part, of an operation, and was just too costly a sacrifice to make. Our own endeavors overseas failed because of some language and communication disconnects.

Anyway, why I am talking about all of this? Technology is the ultimate outsourced labor. With computers, great software, and a team of trained professionals offices can accomplish with 5 people what it used to take dozens. To me, this is nearly equal, perhaps even a step above outsourcing to other countries, but it rarely gets addressed. Ethics aside, the technology in your office works to literally replace, and speed up your existing staff as well as, in some cases, eliminate the need for extra space. A law office, for example, with a centralized server, and special software can now eliminate the need for a “file room” and all but eliminate the process of “filing” by implementing a process through their computer system that automatically “files” documents to perspective client areas.

• Hundreds of square feet saved = $10’s of thousands of dollars saved
• Single job completely eliminated = $10’s of thousands of dollars saved
• Being able to instantly bring up any client file while your on the phone with them, making them think they’re the only client you have… priceless

The technology in your business should, at every level work to achieve these goals, faster, easier, more automated. And, other than an occasional downed hard drive or power failure technology is always-on, always accessible, and accessible from anywhere.

Technology Revolution

With this in mind, Southwest Florida businesses should take note that there is a revolution going on in the technology industry. Businesses are moving away from the central server approach, where an office has one or more physical computers in the office that route traffic, and store files and being replaced by what are called “managed services.” In the not-too-distant future all computing, especially centralized computing - whereby your business and employees access valuable resources (customer data, accounting information, etc) will be hosted offsite, on a number of servers, providing greater flexibility (access from anywhere), speed, uptime, and reduced costs.

There are already a number of services out there like this, one of the big ones right now is “managed exchange.” Various companies basically take the need to purchase, install, and maintain a single server in house for your companies email and you simply pay a monthly fee per mailbox instead. Everything else is built in. And since these companies can specialize, and throw hundreds or thousands of emails on one or a few machines, the cost is reduced tremendously. What used to cost $1000/machine, $1000 for software, $1000/year for maintance, now only costs a few dollars per month to achieve. And, since it is a recurring monthly cost, it greatly minimizes start-up costs and can expand with your business.

But, this is not the only service available. For example our office uses Skype to manage calls. We have no centralized call area, physically set up in the office. Instead an always-on application routes calls, forwards calls, and collects voicemail, everywhere and anywhere.

Go do a search on Google for whatever part of your business or process you think could benefit from technology or these kinds of managed services and you’ll be surprised at what you might find.

Welcome to Bonita Business

Thank you for stopping by the newest and most innovative place on the web for Southwest Florida. So, what is BonitaBusiness.com? I’m glad you asked. Bonita Business was created by me, Zach Katkin. I am currently the co-owner of Atilus, a local web development and Internet Advertising company based right here in Bonita Springs (Southwest Florida).

Basically, my partner and I have had to go through a lot in order to setup, and maintain our business. And as it grows, we are faced with new challenges and situations every single day. With that in mind we wanted to produce a true resource for the community, or those thinking about joining the community to assist others in the day-to-day operations of their business.

We also have additional resources we will be rolling out as the site chugs along in order to provide even more helpful information and services to the Southwest Florida (Naples, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Marco Island, Sanibel, Estero) business community.

In total, BonitaBusiness.com will provide visitors with:

1. Information on Southwest Florida’s business environment
2. Articles on business categories/topics from leaders in the community
3. Resources (where to get/find stuff for business)
4. Business Forum (open forum where users can discuss anything business)
5. Networking/Seminar Calendar
6. Business Directory (place for local businesses to gain exposure and market themselves)
7. Photo Gallery (pictures from networking events and seminars)

Articles on business categories will be written by partners of bonitabusiness.com who have been hand selected as prominent leaders in their field. Our articles will be featured under the following categories:

1. Technology
2. Real Estate
3. Marketing
4. Development
5. Management
6. Finance
7. Legal

So, check back often as we will be constantly adding articles and information to help new businesses, seasoned businesses, people and companies thinking about moving down to Southwest Florida as well as potential upstart companies and individuals who may want to start a business, but aren’t exactly sure how, or what they need to know.