Adding a Computer Network to Your Startup Business

One of the most significant signs that a small startup company is on its way to becoming a mid-sized business is when operations require more than one workstation. Whenever the founder of a company starts their business on their own, they will often do so using their personal computer. As the business grows, a computer network will be needed.

In the early days of a one person startup company, there's no need to purchase a server unit or any networking devices. All of the company data is in one file under My Documents, and all of the needed business applications can be stored on a PC's hard drive. Even if you hire an additional staff member and add an extra workstation, you still may be able to get by with sharing files via your Internet router, and you can install the same software that's on your computer onto your new employee's PC. Although, while it's true that you can get work done for your new business by storing your company's data on your workstations' hard drives, this isn't a solution that you will want to plan on growing your business with.

Making the Transition to a Business Network
As soon as you begin thinking about adding workstations to your small business is when you should begin looking into adding a server unit and other network tools. A server will allow you to host all of your files in one centralized location, and NAS tools will give you ways to efficiently manage and protect your data. There are several advantages that come with storing your data over a network. Upon upgrading to a server, you should notice an increase in the reliability and performance of accessing your data.

Server units come in many sizes. You can install a small business server unit for your network that will provide you with all the network features that you will need. Three of these features include:

Control Network Access
By taking advantage of a computer network, you can implement controls regarding who can view, access, and edit specific files, documents, and applications on your server. Your server will come with an Active Directory, which allows you to adjust permissions so that only you and your accountant can view your company's financial information. Meanwhile, other employees will only be able to access content that's only pertinent to their job.

Data Stored on a Properly Configured Hard Drive Array
Every business has unique needs and demands that they will store on their server. One advantage of having your data stored on a centralized location is that you're able to configure the server's hard drive in order to meet the demands of your business. For example, if your business has a high demand for data and needs to access files quickly, then your hard drives can be configured for this purpose in order to boost performance across your entire company.

Taking Advantage of a Better Backup Solution
The very best backup solution for business is one that backs up your information to the cloud. If your information is stored on a server, then you will be able to take advantage of a Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution that we offer to our clients. BDR is the best on-site to-cloud backup solution on the market because it will automatically back up all of your data and push it to the cloud. This way your data will be quickly available to you via Internet connection in the event of a disaster-causing data loss event. Backing up your server's data with a cloud solution like BDR is a much more convenient way to backup your data than using a local backup solution for every workstation in your office.

When it comes time to implement a server and a network for your business, you will benefit greatly by calling our professionals at 586 258-0650 to have us set up everything for you. We will take the time to assess your company's unique computing needs and educate you about how to manage your network. We can even maintain your IT infrastructure for you remotely with our managed IT services so that your network will be running at optimum efficiency.

Because you won't have to worry about running your computer network, you will instead be able to focus on running your business. This will allow you to grow faster and you can be assured that SMART Services will be there for you when it's time to expand and upgrade once again.