Nemark was appointed by a small medical consultancy, whose management were getting more and more uncomfortable with the fact that the entirety of their business was being run from an aging Microsoft SBS (Small Business Server). This platform was very popular a few years ago as it enabled small businesses to run file storage, email and user securities all within one machine but sadly, such a one-server approach introduces a huge SPOF (Single Point Of Failure).
When we factor in the passage of time and thus, the increasing risk of something going wrong, it is easy to see why the firm wanted to take pro-active measures here.
Solution
Analysis of the functionality being provided by the outgoing server showed that email and file storage were the primary roles and, given the firm enjoyed a respectable fibre internet connection, a natural choice was the proven combination of Office 365 and Dropbox Business, the latter of which is the “grown up” version of Dropbox Free, bringing file permissions, additional space and a whole host of other benefits not found in the “gratis” version.
Once Dropbox was rolled out, users were no longer reliant on the SBS Server for the storage of their files and were also safe in the knowledge that every file storage within their Dropbox Business tenancy was secure, backed up, and available with a 120-day version history meaning that they could go back to an unlimited number of previous versions of any file, within that 120-day window.
Regarding Office 365, Nemark determined that 9 out of the 12 users had sufficient Office licenses meaning that they could use the “email only” version of Office 365, with the 3 remaining users requiring the Office 365 Business Premium license which includes the latest version of Word, Excel, Outlook etc., as well as business email.
Outcome
The firm now enjoys total peace of mind since “the internet” is providing their file and email functionality and even then, Nemark have set it up in such a way that those files and emails are available even during internet outages! The SBS Server has been removed, along with all its attendant costs. Staff can work from anywhere, and email will continue to flow during periods of machine / internet / power failure. To say the client is happier and more relaxed would be an understatement!
