• Microsoft Small Business Server

The Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) is a package of Microsoft Core Server Technologies aimed at delivering value for money and high levels of service for small to medium sized business.  It is designed to be the first server for a small company that has just become large enough to benefit from its first client server network delivering shared storage, integrated security, remote access to files and email, and a consistent service to its customers.

The current standard edition delivers the core requirements of a Windows Server 2008 Server for data storage and security plus an email server (Microsoft Exchange 2010) and Intranet/Document Management server (SharePoint Foundation 2010) to enable your business to work better.  The Premium Edition adds an enterprise software firewall (Microsoft TMG Server 2010), and a Database Server (Microsoft SQL Server 2010 Workgroup edition).  Additional server applications such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, Microsoft Terminal Services, SharePoint Server 2010, financial applications (such as Sage) or enterprise AV products can added to the main server or installed on additional servers as required.

Small Business Server enables all employees to communicate if they are in or out of the office by providing access to Microsoft Office Outlook data (emails, calendar and contacts) to laptops, PDAs, Smartphones, or home PCs.  It also allows access to files at work from home via its secure Remote Web Workspace feature.

Small Business Server also offers an excellent administration console, reporting functions, and some extra business facilities such as a network fax application.  Small Business Server is aimed at businesses with between 5 and 75 staff.  If you have a previous version of SBS then Cnik can assist you with the upgrade to the latest version (Small Business Sserver 2011).  Cnik are a qualified Microsoft Small Business Server Specialist.

The current versions of Small Business Server are:

• Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard (Windows SBS 2011 Standard) is the right server for small businesses that need a complete, on-premise solution with enterprise-class Windows server technologies for communication and collaboration.



• Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials (Windows SBS 2011 Essentials) is a new, easy-to-use, first-server solution designed and priced especially for small businesses (up to 25 users) that can seamlessly integrate into online services such as Office 365, cloud backup and cloud management solutions.
  
  
• Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on (Windows SBS 2011 Premium Add-on) is a powerful data management and analysis solution that includes a second Windows Server 2008 R2 license and SQL Server 2008 R2 technologies.

Microsoft Small Business Server 2011 is designed to be cost effective for small businesses and is priced on the number of users that will access the system.  It is most cost effective when purchased as OEM software with a new hardware server and Cnik can assist you with that.  It is possible to purchase the hardware server, the server software with licenses for 5 users, and have it installed and configured on site for £1350.00 (+VAT) although we wouldn't particularly recommend it without considering the company requirements for business continuity and fault tolerance first.  That's less than the cost of a high-end laptop!  Contact Cnik for more information.