Selling the first server

A server can make life easier for a small business customer and for you – but how do you convince them of that?

Server installations go wrong for any number of reasons, especially when it’s the first time the business has had a server, and for the strangest reasons. The server was built to specification. The engineer was on time and eager to start. The problem? The customer didn’t like the colour.

Using SharePoint for document management for the small office

Project management, version control, group calendars, no more duplicates… SharePoint offers the small business a lot more than fancy file sharing and often it’s free. Julian Jordan from London based  IT support consultancy Network Fish shows them how to get the most from it.

Partner Focus: Peter-Hortensius-Lenovo

The computer maker Lenovo has 9% of the worldwide PC market, and in 2009 it ranked as the world’s fast-est-growing PC company. In the three months to December 31st, Lenovo grew sales by 42%, against an industry av-erage of 17%. We asked Lenovo what that means for small business resellers.

Raid 6 Storage

If two drives fail in a RAID 5 array, you lose data. RAID 6 promises more protection and better performance.

Security in the Virtual world

Many organisations need help expanding their data security policies to embrace virtual IT environments

Setting up a VPN between two sites

Setting up a VPN between two sites for a small business to create a single network; although the interface will be different for every router, the functions are roughly the same.

Protecting against power issues in a small office takes more than picking a UPS

Protect computers from power problems and you can extend their working life as well as avoiding downtime and possible data corruption. Losing data on a laptop or desktop is bad enough, but losing a server to a power surge or power cut can be much more severe, potentially even a threat to the business. Losing a mail server or a major database can lead to serious data corruption that will take you time, perhaps even days, to resolve. During that time, your customer’s business is being impacted, and even if they’ve ignored your advice they’re likely to blame you, so you need to explain the danger and convince them to protect their systems.

Network monitoring is good for business

What you need to keep customer networks running; free network management tools perform basic tasks on smaller networks but pay-for tools give you more data and customisation options.

Getting to grips with VDI

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is being promoted as the solution to all that ails the desktop. The truth is somewhat different.

Selling White Label Services

Reselling services represent a significant – and growing – part of the business for many IT consultants. Margins on IT hardware, and to a lesser extent, software, have fallen steadily. The fees that can be charged for higher-value work, such as code customisation and application testing, have also come under pressure, not least because of competition from suppliers in markets such as India or Eastern Europe and Russia.