Microsoft  - Small Business Server 2003

What's in it for YOU

We’ve shown below some of the key features of Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) which
might make it a really useful tool for your IT installation. 

Remote Working
A Major Feature of Small Business Server

Remote Connection Features
work from home, a branch office, a customers office, a hotel room, or anywhere in the world for that matter,
at any time of the day or night.

• Outlook Web Access enables you to connect over the internet to read your emails, calendar, contacts list, etc. You can be anywhere that there is an internet connection – at home, in a clients office, in a hotel room, etc and you can connect to the office server to read and reply to all your internal and external emails.

• Remote Web Workplace goes one stage further and enables you to take control of your desktop pc through your home pc or your laptop, while you are not at the office. Once you have linked to your office pc you can use it just as if you were sitting at your desk. You can run programs, print out documents, send and receive faxes and emails, and do everything else which your office pc allows you to do.

• A Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows you to connect directly to the works server from your local pc, wherever you happen to be in the world. The concept of a VPN is sometimes difficult to grasp at first – imagine you have a new pc at work, to connect to the office File Server a cable is connected to your pc at one end and to the network switch at the other. Press a few buttons, enter your username and password and you’re connected. Now imagine that you are at home but need to connect to the office server. You can’t stretch the network cable over a few miles, but you CAN use the existing ‘phone cable network. How?... You connect to the internet, enter your servers address (just like you would enter a Web Site name), the connection is made over the internet, enter your username and password, and, hey presto, you’re in, just as if you were only in the next door office.

Built-In Firewall
A Major Feature of Small Business Server

A Built-in Firewall for extra security.
Security is now a serious issue for all of us. Whether you are a home user with a single PC, a small business with a few networked computers or a corporation with thousands of users in many different offices you know that somewhere out there is a computer virus, or a hacker just waiting for its chance to jump onto your computer and screw up your hard disk for you, scramble a load of files, or cause havoc in some other way.

The Virus.
It’s out there, its waiting for you, and…..
YOU KNOW IT !!

Most of us now have anti virus software in place. If a virus lands on your computer and your anti virus software is up to date then it should get caught and dealt with fairly promptly. But therein is the Achilles Heel of anti virus software – the virus must arrive at your computer in the first place – you’ve already got it, although it might have done no damage yet.

A Firewall, on the other hand, will try and intercept harmful files and malicious connections BEFORE they reach your computer, BEFORE there is an opportunity to do harm, BEFORE the damage is done. SBS has a built-in firewall which will help protect your network, and your precious, essential data from harm. And, even if you already have a hardware firewall, then the SBS one can be used at the same time to provide an extra layer of security – You can’t have too much protection from virus and hacker attacks.

Exchange Server to collect, sort and deliver emails
A Major Feature of Small Business Server

An Automatically Managed Email System
SBS2003 includes Microsoft Exchange Server, which can collect all your emails from the internet and then distribute them to the correct recipient.
Its just like a Post Office Sorting Office – Get all the emails together from all the different sources, sort them out and then deliver them to each users mailbox whilst, at the same time, checking whether each user has email which needs to be sent out, sorting them for internal and external email addresses and then making the deliveries to the mailboxes. It all happens automatically, in the background with one single connection to the internet (rather than everyone connecting and collecting their email individually).

Exchange Server also offers shared diaries and calendars, contact lists, to do lists and many other networked features that become an essential part of normal office life once you start using them and are used to them.

Shared Network Faxing
A Major Feature of Small Business Server

Shared Faxing from the desktop.
SBS will enable all the network users to send faxes directly from the programme which created them. There is no need to prepare a document in Word, print it, go to the fax machine and send it, and then store the printed version “just in case”. The SBS way is – prepare the document in Word (or Excel, or Sage Accounts, or Photoshop, or anything really), instead of choosing a printer choose Fax, and type in the fax number. Simple as that !! SBS will send the fax, will keep trying if the number is engaged, will confirm to you when the fax has been successfully sent and will save a copy on the file server for your records. SBS will also receive faxes which can be stored on the server and/or emailed to a network user. They can be viewed on screen and do not need to be printed, all the junk faxes that we all seem to receive can just get deleted off the server without wasting paper and too much time.

Other features include shared files and printers, a basic document management system, an internal company intranet, an automated Backup and Restore facility, support for Wireless Networks, and much much more.

Is Small Business Server Expensive ?
No. It’s actually amazingly cheap. A standard 5 user version of SBS2003 should cost around £450.

Does Small Business Server require a sophisticated PC ?
No. SBS2003 will run on practically any PC which has been built within the last year, although it must be said that the faster the processor, the more the memory and the better the hard disk, the better the Server.

Why should I use Delta PC ?
Erm…. Well, having performed many, many Small Business Server installations we can say that we know Small Business Server very well by now. We can advise you on its suitability for you in the first place (and if it’s not suitable for you then we’ll tell you so), we can advise whether your existing IT hardware is up to the job, we can make sure the system is installed and configured correctly for you and offer a high level of support both during the initial period when you are getting used to the system, and then through to its maturity when you may be looking to build on, or enhance your network.

We offer a full (low cost) emergency support package which gives you access to our technicians who will react rapidly in the case of an emergency. We can also remotely connect to your network to check that your anti virus protection is up to date, that your backups are working properly, and that your network as a whole is working as it should be.

If you do need new hardware we offer file servers from the very high quality Fujitsu Siemens range, as well as a wide variety of normal desktop workstations from small Shuttle systems, through mini and midi PCs, up to large graphics and multi media workstations. We offer practical and realistic advice on whether a basic spec’ server or workstation will fulfil your needs, or whether you should consider certain options and upgrades to get the maximum performance and reliability.

We do not sell rubbish, we are not a typical “here today, gone tomorrow” IT firm, we are not the cheapest, but we are serious about setting your network up to fulfil its potential. We’ve been in business for over 15 years and still have clients who were with us at the start – we think we offer first class products, backed up with first class product knowledge and first class technical support. We think you would be pleased to have chosen Delta PC.

For more information about Microsoft Small Business Server 2003, and to
discuss its suitability to you or your business please <click here>

Download a product feature guide (pdf) by clicking here.

Download a Microsoft product datasheet (pdf) by clicking here.