Reply by Blank from Small Business Ru!es on Thursday, 5 May, 2011 - 14:17

Hi Ryan, You are asking questions that many clients ask and there are good solutions available out there to do all of this. My answer would be too long to post in a forum situation such as this. I would therefore have two suggestions for you. Firstly, if you have a trusted IT Provider, they should be able to solve these problems for you as part of a new network installation. Alternatively, I would be happy to perform consultancy work for you in designing a new network for you. Note that our organisation does not perform the actual installations (I owned an organisation that did that for 20 years but I sold that recently and I am still in my non-compete period) but I am fully qualified to createa report for you that will outline exactly what you need to do to achieve your objectives. Thanks.

Reply by Grant Laing from Blended IT Solutions on Thursday, 5 May, 2011 - 14:41

Hi Ryan, We have done many of these upgrades for both non-profits and and commericals clients. We can actually supply or consult on two options for this scenerio. The two options are as follows; 1. install a small business server and small hardware server in your current network, move all the files to the server and access them from there. in this way you can take advantage of the donortec software offering, and just need the cost of the server and the install/setup time. (a simplified version, more info can be provided.) 2. setup your server in a cloud/hosted environment, and use either a terminal server or have the applications served to over the internet, through a secure VPN. This works the same way as above, but does not require the purchase of the hardware, unless you want your own server hosted. This also does not rely on your site being available for the access for the staff on the road, this can be accessed from anywhere. we also do all the management of the server as well. Both of these options are available, if you want to discuss them. Just give me a call or email. thanks grant

Reply by Steve Constantinou from Emerging IT Pty Ltd on Thursday, 5 May, 2011 - 14:59

Hi Ryan, We assist many organisations such as yours with with complementary consultation on how to best set this up from both a hardware & software point of view. We can also perform the installation work for you as well as performing the regular maintenance for you. Please feel free to contact me on 1300 133 966. regards Gerald Bartels

Reply by Chris from Far Edge Pty Ltd on Thursday, 5 May, 2011 - 15:05

Hi Ryan, Your network sounds like a pretty typical micro/small business/charity. As such you'll be fine with a small server, and from the DonorTec side the SBS 2008 Standard package. Some caveats to be aware of... you'll need professional editions of Windows on your PCs (these licences are inexpensive through DonorTec too), and if you're planning on running any CRM packages or similar that require a database this may impact your requirements. Along those lines - if you have plans for CRM I would suggest at least looking at hosted options as this will greatly reduce the complexity of what you need to run inside your office. Other items to consider: firewall that scans incoming / outgoing traffic such as the Fortigates, and managed antivirus on the desktop. The working remotely functionality is standard "out of the box" and doesn't require anything special, and if you're using iphones et al works well without any further configuration or software required. If you'd like to find out what we've done for similar organisations please email or ring. Regards, Chris

Reply by Neil McLachlan from Co Serve Consulting on Thursday, 5 May, 2011 - 15:26

Hello Ryan. As noted by others here your questions echo those frequently voiced by smaller not-for-profit and community based organisations looking at enhancing or upgrading their existing technology. Unfortunately, answering your questions in the detail they deserve isn't really possible in a forum like this. For instance, although Donortec makes Microsoft’s server operating system and communications software available at very attractive prices, it may be better for a small organisation to avoid the administrative complexity of this type of solution and simply make use of POP e-mail accounts through their ISP instead. To cut a long story short I think that you should have a chat with a trusted advisor – such as Co Serve - before you commit to any particular course of action. This will allow you to clarify both what you want to achieve with your ICT investment and what suitable solutions are available at a cost that is acceptable to your organisation. Once this is done you can then map out a way forward from where you are today. Regards Neil

Reply by Debbie Lindsay from iseek computing on Thursday, 5 May, 2011 - 15:28

Hi Ryan,

I'll address your questions one by one:

* Networking 5 computers together to share files.
Very simple functionality, and can be achieved even without a server although thats not recommended.

* Email hosting on the server
Microsoft Exchange - included with MS Small Business Server does this out of the box, and comes with 5 licenses, so sounds like a good fit for you, and is available from Donortec!

* Network printer
The printer can be setup on the MS Small Business Server and then easily added to the client computers.

* Easier computer sharing
It sounds like implementing Roaming Profiles may be the solution to allowing the staff to share computers more effectively, but there are other questions that would need to be answered before that could be decided.

* Easier computer management
We provide a Managed solution which monitors and allows high levels of support for varying sized organisations. This can include anti-virus and our pricing starts at $ 29.95 per workstation. If there is an IT savvy person in the organisation, we can give them access to the Managed interface for looking after the computers internally as well.

* Accessing the network remotely
There are multiple ways to achieve this, from utilising Remote Desktop to take over computers in the office through to file sharing systems like dropbox or Microsoft's Windows Live Mesh. These and other file sharing applications often have "apps" for the iPhone/iPad and Android based systems making them very handy for road warriors.

http://dropbox.com/, http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh

We'd be happy to meet and discuss your requirements further at no charge.

iseek computing pty ltd
Phone: 1300 047 335
Web: http://www.iseek.biz

Reply by mbyham on Thursday, 5 May, 2011 - 15:55

Hi, I completed an install of a new Windows SBS (Small Business Server) 2011 Server for Stride Foundation last month and upgraded their workstations. I also replaced some of the older machines and installed 2 new Windows7 laptops and 1 workstation. They're extremely happy about with their whole network now. the performance is great. The SBS product really does encompass pretty much everything a small businees would need. To give a bit of a run down of the features of Windows SBS 2011:Exchange 2010 hosts all of your email, shared calendars and OWA (Outlook Web Access- webmail); Activesync allows you to sync email and calendars to iPhones, smart phones etc; Sharepoint 2010 which provides your intranet, publish; file/folder printer sharing. I can provide more details, for free, I dont charge for questions and quotes. I only charge for time spent providing you service. I also don't really sell products(can if you want me to) but advise what you should buy. Please contact to discuss further. Regards, Mark 0408866021 www.wanaus.com

Reply by from Mycall4care on Friday, 6 May, 2011 - 08:17

Hi Ryan, We have recently went thru the same thing. We found Telstra Business Suite the best cost effective option rather than spending and maintaining a server. Have a look at this web link https://store.t-suite.telstra.com/jsdn/web/login/loginview.jsp?view=.view.jsdn.store.marketplace.browseservice&src=services&fromAdvPage=yes&internalFileName=mos-page.html#p_default3 and see what you think. It costs $16.95 per person per month, but in the end for us was a FAR better use of capital than installing a server. Give me a call if you would like to talk more about it, always glad to help... Kurt Alexander Operations Manager mycall4care 0402-829-348 www.mycall4care.com (Yes, we are in Australia and Australian owned)

Reply by from Community Computer Services on Wednesday, 11 May, 2011 - 14:46

Windows SBS Server is your answer. Personally, I am not a huge fan of Telstra's Online Business services. Most non-profits have a lot of sensitive client data and I am not the trusting type to let this be housed 'in the cloud' with someone else having physical access and total control of that data. What if you don't pay your bill or are late - will they lock you out of your data? Can you get it back? How is it backed up? What redundancies are in place? How secure is it? Internet down - No access to data etc Additionally, its an ongoing monthly cost - forever and will increase as you add more users or as your non-profit expands. As a Donortech member you can purchase Windows SBS Server at an absurdly cheap price. SBS is the easiest of the server deployments and any competent IT firm should be able to deploy an SBS box and hook up your 5 desktop PC's in only a couple of hours. Additionally, SBS is very easy to manage and any IT savvy person can follow the very easy wizards to add new users, create new email addresses etc OR you can engage an IT Company to support your server either as needed or on an ongoing basis.