Microsoft’s Windows Server 2003 and 2008 are full scale server platforms designed to scale up to meet the needs of the world’s largest companies. Of course, functionality like that doesn’t come without complexity. While a small single server Windows network may seem like a no brainer to an experience IT professional, it can be a major challenge for the small business owner.
Consider a landscaping business started by a father and son a few years back. Then, they just used their home computers to print out flyers and send emails. But, when success followed, things changed quickly. First they got office space and a receptionist. Still, just three computers linked via a wireless router was no big deal.
As they grew, things started getting more difficult. Now with multiple projects each day, a couple dozen employees ranging from landscapers, to sales people, to a billing person, to the father and son now managing the business, the ad hoc wireless network is stretching to its breaking point. Even worse, billing records, credit card numbers, and who knows what other personal information is scattered across a dozen hard drives. The currently implemented network security model involves giving harmless sounding names to important folders and shares. Clearly, it is time for a change.
But, the bad news comes fast for our business owners. Local accounts, global accounts, groups, Active Directory, machine accounts, it all sounds complicated, and frankly, with a business to run, there isn’t time to figure all of that stuff out. Besides, even if they are setup right today, there is no one with the time or ability to keep it running properly. Adding a full-time IT persons salary is out of the question, and dropping money on a consultant isn’t much better.
