Cost of Server

vedwards

Dear Boards.ie Friends,

what should I expect to pay for a server to run a small business (€1.5m turnover)? AFAIK only used for database, wages and small office applications + security system linked in.

I've also been told to consider a 'Cloud' server.

Your advise and suggestions would be appreciated.

sincerely.

seamus

Dell will provide budget servers for well less than a grand that are perfectly adequate for running small backoffice databases and filesharing.

Your main issue with these is maintenance - ensuring the server is secure and patched, etc. Backup is a major concern because as the business become more reliant on the server, if the server dies (or burns or gets stolen, etc) they can be literally sitting there twiddling their thumbs and losing money while you attempt to scrape something together.

A cloud server is basically like renting a server from a company and locating it offsite. They provide the hardware and OS, you install your applications. The upside of these is that disaster recovery and stability is managed by the other company, you only have to look after your applications and protect your data from being accidentally deleted.
Cloud servers in fact are a little more sophisticated in that they effectively never go offline.

However, the one big downside with cloud servers, as with any cloud infrastructure, is your internet connection. If the company office loses its internet connection, they lose access to the server. If they're stuck using a standard eircom DSL line, then they can only access the server at piddly speeds of 8Mb or whatever, as opposed to 10Gb if the server was local.

micosoft

vedwards wrote: »

Dear Boards.ie Friends,

what should I expect to pay for a server to run a small business (€1.5m turnover)? AFAIK only used for database, wages and small office applications + security system linked in.

I've also been told to consider a 'Cloud' server.

Your advise and suggestions would be appreciated.

sincerely.

It would be better if you could give a little detail on your asks. For example - database is very very broad - you can buy 200k single databases but I'll presume for the time being very light databases, perhaps even just a contacts database.

If you are a small business I'd suggest the following:

Get Office365 for your email (Outlook including smartphone email), intranet (SharePoint), light database (lists), Instant Messaging etc. It's cheap at €5.5 per user per month. It also takes most of the complexity away from having an onsite mail server which will cost you money in support costs. They will shortly introduce a version where you get a copy of Microsoft Office for everyone (5 installs actually) which is really good.

On the accounts side, if you are not stuck go with SageOne

On the security side use Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free, effective and its as important (if not more so) to make sure your computers are patched than AntiVirus.

Buy a couple of external harddisks for backing up your PC's. If you need a central file share just get a little server for about €400 from Dell. That said you need to back that up - I'd look at Microsoft SharePoint (included above) to store your files in the cloud (and automatically backed up). The big advantage is that your files are available where ever you are (not just the office).

There are tonnes of very nice Customer Relationship Management software our there (Internet based) which I'd suggest if that is what your database is for. Again, this will sync with your smartphone giving you access outside the office.

vedwards

Thanks Seamus & Micosoft,

seamus wrote: »

...Your main issue with these is maintenance - ensuring the server is secure and patched, etc. Backup is a major concern because as the business become more reliant on the server, if the server dies (or burns or gets stolen, etc) they can be literally sitting there twiddling their thumbs and losing money while you attempt to scrape something together...

That is exactly what's happening.

I can't give much more information as I'm not IT but the business's web site and emails are run on the web developers servers (well I suppose the company they do business with that is; BK, digiW or H365). The accounts (Sage, RB or TAS) would be the most important and yes a small contacts database.

I was told that a server might cost up to €13k to €20k so it's a relief to hear otherwise. The DSL is standard single line.

Thanks again guys.

micosoft

Could you tell me how many people use your network?

A server is simply a very powerful computer. If you've five or less staff I'd struggle to justify one. From five to 15 you are talking about €1000 for a server. Maybe more if you store images, movies etc. Don't bother with tape drives - costly and unreliable. You can use Mozy which is cheap and backs up over the internet so if your server is burnt down you still can get your data. I find people become lazy about checking backups/bringing them offsite.

vedwards

Thanks again micosoft...
There are only 3 in the office with an EPOS attached from the shop. There are several PC's attached which need to be tied down. I see this as an opportunity to bring the system into the 21st century but I think the urgency to get up and running quickly will prevail.

qwertz

I recommend you invite a couple of IT services companies, show them what you have, tell them what you need and take it from there. There will be no cost to your company unless you happen to get a dodgy one. If that's the case then pick another one

Feel free to PM me for suggestions.

vedwards

Thanks qwertz,

I may take you up on that offer and PM you tomorrow.

trad

http://www.hpshop.ie/products.asp?partno=658553-421

€318.05 incl vat and if you buy between 1/12/12 an 31/1/13 you get €120 back

http://www.hpshop.ie/Microserver.pdf

Might do the job for you.

Ctrl Alt Del

trad wrote: »

http://www.hpshop.ie/products.asp?partno=658553-421

€318.05 incl vat and if you buy between 1/12/12 an 31/1/13 you get €120 back

http://www.hpshop.ie/Microserver.pdf

Might do the job for you.

Will you put your business to run on that box !??
1 CPU,2Gb RAM,one hard drive ,what cooling,what redundancies,what support ,what performance !!???

Has same spec as my Note2 phone...
What a joke...

Head The Wall

The fact that you are comparing it to a Note 2 shows how much you know about technology <snip>

Sposs

You might be better taking it into the cloud or certainly offsite - for the cost of purchasing the physical server, you would get all the benefits and security / redundancy of having it offsite while reducing hardware capex costs and management costs.

But of course im biased

trad

Head The Wall wrote: »

The fact that you are comparing it to a Note 2 shows how much you know about technology <snip>

Well the OP thanked me <snip>
I don't profess to be an IT guru, far from it, but had come across it elsewhere and it's cheap as chips. It also uses Server 2008 as an Os so it must be designed to be used as a business server.

What HP say about it

"You have multiple versions of files floating around the company and maintaining control of document versions is becoming a challenge - there is no central data storage. You need to improve communication and work processes with employees or customers. You want to make sure that you can make the most of your existing computers and office equipment. The HP ProLiant MicroServer is a general purpose server that can provide a platform to organize and safeguard your business information, allow effective communication with customers and make the most of your existing office equipment and resources. The HP MicroServer is a cost effective starter server for businesses with less than 10 clients and it can take your business to the next level of productivity and efficiency"

Sparks

Mod note: Keep it civil folks.