Offers a secure remote PC management application featuring an administration toolkit, monitoring and alerts, and a console for enterprise deployment.
www.LogMeIn.com
Web-based software for document management, workflow automation, reporting, review & approval, BPM and eForms processing.
www.imarkup.com
Compare Server Management Software using Capterra's free, comprehensive directory.
Capterra.com
Discover the Innovations in Windows Server® 2008. Download the Trial.
www.Microsoft.com/WindowsServer2008
Find Scalable & Secure Dell Network Server Solutions at Official Site.
www.Dell.com/SmallBusiness
CPU, Memory, Disk Monitoring Manage Windows, Linux servers
www.OpManager.com
Enterprise Server Software at a Small Business Price, Starting $149
www.ezbluesoftware.com
Find providers and discounts for your local neighborhood
InternetServicesGuide.com
Monitor and archive 2000, 2003, NT Event logs with MonitorMagic
www.advtoolware.com
Developer of secure mail server software supporting unlimited users and domains, POP3, SMTP, LDAP, IMAP4, HTTP protocols, mail server based virus scanning, spam filtering, and web mail server accounts.
Product Info | Download | Testimonials | Contact Us
www.merak-mail-server.com(Paid)
Regardless of your industry, Pragma Systems will provide the remote access solutions that will solve your security challenges.
www.pragmasys.com(Paid)
Compare Server Management Software using Capterra's free, comprehensive directory.
Capterra.com (Paid)
Offers a secure remote PC management application featuring an administration toolkit, monitoring and alerts, and a console for enterprise deployment.
www.LogMeIn.com (Paid)
Web-based software for document management, workflow automation, reporting, review & approval, BPM and eForms processing.
www.imarkup.com (Paid)
Discover the Innovations in Windows Server® 2008. Download the Trial.
www.Microsoft.com/WindowsServer2008
Find Scalable & Secure Dell Network Server Solutions at Official Site.
www.Dell.com/SmallBusiness
Guide to Server Software
How to select server software for a host of business needsLike an operating system in an ordinary desktop computer, server software give your servers a purpose and means to do their jobs. Unlike operating system software, server software often has just one, specific job to do: dish up Web site pages, handle faxes or e-mail, allow the interchange of corporate files, manage customer data and so on.
Practically speaking, you'll need a dedicated server for each, and server software to match. Covered in this guide:
1. Understanding the different purposes of server software
2. Selecting email server software and fax server software
3. Web server software choices
4. File transfer protocol server software
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
A server and server software for every purpose
Once upon a time, server software was relatively simple stuff. Now, though, most complex business processes require a server, and the right server software, for each. Accounting, customer relationship management, e-mail, Web sites, e-commerce -- nearly any business task could be done with its own variety of server software.
I recommend:
In practice, for a small business, this means email, accounting and perhaps, hosting your own Web site. Take a look at product overviews at Microsoft, IBM and HP. See more at the Business.com directory page on server software vendors.
For email, server software choices are many
Email server software has been a principal focus of server software developers for many years, so the choices here are broader and cheaper, in general. Similarly, you can configure server software to deal with faxes, known as fax server software.
I recommend:
Some email server software vendors include Merak MailServer, MailEnable, Zimbra, Fusemail, and Surgemail. Additional resources on email server software can be found at Business.com.
File transfer protocol, or FTP server software gives you security
We all love e-mail, but there is pretty much nothing secure about it. If you need to regularly send confidential data, contracts, customer information or other sensitive documents, FTP server software is the solution
I recommend:
The interface can be as simple as click and upload, and the maximum file sizes are usually much higher than e-mail systems allow in any case. Take a look at GlobalSCAPE and WinFTP Server. More information on FTP server software is at Business.com.
For e-commerce, you'll need Web server software
Many small businesses are moving their Web sites to managed hosting in order to avoid running their own server software for Web site needs. Your traffic, though, may be high enough or important enough to your model to justify the expense.
I recommend:
The major types of Web server software in use today include Apache, Internet Information Services (IIS) from Microsoft, Sun Microsystems' Java server and Zeus. For additional vendor options, take a look at Web server software at Business.com.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide- The war of late has been between 'open source' server software and its primary competitor, Microsoft Windows. Open source is often cheaper, but could take more resources to manage. Price both carefully over several years, or bring in consulting help before making a big commitment.
- Similarly, there has been a lot of pressure on email systems. Generally, unless you need for regulatory reasons to recall every single email in your system, managed email -- which means the server software is offsite -- can be a blessing. Shop carefully.
- Not sure what's the right fit? Mix and match. Since most server software requires its own software to run correctly, you could easily buy server software for accounting but outsource your e-mail or Web site to a managed hosting provider.
