If you’ve been tasked with finding a business server, chances are you’re not sure where to start.
That’s okay because it can be tough! There is a lot of information and choices out there. And it may seem like an impossible task to find the right business server for your business needs.
Don’t let that stress you out, though. We’ve put this quick guide together to help business owners and managers select the right business server for business needs.
Business Applications to Run On the Server?
The first step to choosing the right business server is determining what business applications you’ll be running. Think about all of your business needs and requirements. For example, there’s CRM software, accounting software, messaging or collaboration tools, etc.
These business needs can help determine:
- How many cores are required for your business unit(s),
- How much RAM is needed
- Whether you need a RAID array
- How many hard drives
This is important to understand since business servers can be expensive. You don’t want to over-buy for business needs that may not need the highest of specs or expandability in future years.
Once you have determined your business application requirements, it will help determine which business server(s) best suits your company.
Location
There are two main options when it comes to business servers.
The first is a small business server located at your company’s location, called on-premise business servers. The second option is cloud business services.
Cloud business service providers offer different types of virtualized environments. You can host and run applications from the web browser or connectivity device(s) that your team often uses.
If you choose an on-premise business server, it will need physical space dedicated to housing the hardware.
The choice between these two business server options will depend on business needs and requirements.
For example, if you need high-speed connectivity or business continuity features (e.g., disaster recovery), cloud business services are likely the way to go. If your business requires less speed of service but more control over security, data privacy, etc., an on-premise business server is probably a better fit for this type of company.
The location of these servers will also affect business operating costs.
Business servers located at the company’s location will mean more on-site business IT personnel are needed to maintain and run these systems.
In contrast, business servers located in the cloud may mean fewer on-site business IT personnel are needed to maintain and run these systems. Cloud business services also mean less power consumption since there is no hardware on-site with its energy requirements.
Cost
The business server cost will vary depending on business needs and requirements.
For example, business servers can be expensive to purchase and install if high processing speed is required. The higher the specs of a business server, the more it costs.
On-premise business servers also require an initial investment in physical space needed for housing these systems. If you choose cloud business services, there may not be a need to invest in IT infrastructure such as racks and cages that house hardware. This equipment lives off-site with your chosen cloud service provider.
Understanding how much downtime would cost you before choosing the option that works best for business needs is important.
If business continuity is a key business need, then cloud business services are likely the best option to go with. You’ll have little or no downtime when it comes to running your business applications and tasks.
You also want to think about how much upkeep, maintenance, security updates, and upgrades will cost over time.
It’s important not to overestimate what you need from a business server if the price is an issue. In some cases, it may make sense to rent/lease servers rather than purchase them outright, depending on company needs and financial limitations.
Renting equipment can be less expensive but still provide quality service for day-to-day business tasks.
Server Type
There are many business server types to consider for business needs.
Business servers can be either blade or rack-mounted systems. This depends on business requirements and what works best with your business infrastructure.
Blade business servers fit into a chassis that fits up to 16 blades within that one unit. Rack-mounted business servers have their separate housing units where each system is housed in its own space.
Rack-mount business services allow more configurations of sizes since they are set up separately from other systems. Blade business servers come preconfigured with everything you need for running applications within the same hardware configuration.
You can also choose between hybrid and dedicated business servers.
A hybrid business server is a combination of on-premise and cloud business services. It’s meant to provide the best of both worlds for your business needs.
Dedicated business servers are used solely with one service type, either cloud or on-site business services. It depends on which option you choose as most suitable for your company’s business requirements.
Availability of Support
Business server support is an important business need to keep in mind.
Both business on-site and cloud business services provide around-the-clock support for business needs.
Many business owners choose cloud business servers because of their 24/365 availability, scalability, reliability, high-performance capabilities, security features. All are backed by a 99.99% uptime guarantee from most providers.
On-premise business services require you to have your own IT department or dedicated staff. They’ll manage these systems, maintain them over time as needed and ensure they run at optimal levels.
If you need tech support for your in-house server.
Choose the Best Business Server
Business servers are a critical business need to have in place. But you must choose the best business server for business requirements based on company needs and budget limitations.
Also, it’s essential to look at the business server type that works best for your business infrastructure and what kind of support is available. Then you can choose which option will work best for handling business tasks day-to-day while keeping costs down over time.
