Server Support for Small Business

Small business forms an important part of global business. After all this is what generates most new jobs, employment, and keeps economies going in most capitalist countries. In order to ensure that small business runs smoothly, it needs to be provided with the right server support or it infrastructure management.

So what is good server support? Most business software applications run on servers which give employees a centralized platform to access information and run their business needs. This could be payroll software, CRM software, file systems, accounting, HR, ERP applications amongst many other line of business applications. Applications run on operating systems like Windows or Linux, and it is important to maintain the operating systems for optimal health. This includes properly patching all security vulnerabilities using Windows Updates, ensuring that server is running proper security software like firewall and anti-virus and other preventative maintenance items. Preventative maintenance items include deleting temporary files and defragmenting the disk on a periodic basis.

Talking about physical conditions for IT Infrastructure management, small business needs to make sure that all servers and racks are maintained in right temperature conditions, power backup, humidity, and away from a dusty environment. It is always recommended to have your server under manufacturer or vendor warranty, with a quick replacement service level agreement with them. Any sort of hardware failures can occur, and you need to be protected and ensure minimal downtime for your business needs.

The other important thing in small business server support is around backups and disaster recovery. This is an aspect that most small businesses ignore all together. It is extremely important to invest in good backup software. Today, there is a wide range of bare-metal recovery backup products available in the market. Bare metal recovery backs up an entire server disk volume as opposed to only certain files or applications. This makes recovering the entire disk volume much easier and hassle free recovery. An added feature of these products is the fact that they can also do recovery on different server hardware. So, if there is a hardware failure, you can simply paste the bare-metal recovery image on to a new hardware and you're ready to be back online.

V.Khnna is a Digital Marketing Manager for ProVal Technologies, a company providing Server Support and IT Infrastructure management services to companies in N. America (USA), Europe and the Middle East.