Small Business Servers (That Are Right For Your Needs)

In running your own business, you are going to have to deal with data and computers. From marketing and finances to keeping track of customer data, you will need to use a computer for one reason or another. Often, business owners find themselves in a position where a single business computer is not enough to satisfy their needs. Even having separate computers for each employee leaves a company wanting. Even with multiple computers, it is difficult for each team member to collaborate or work remotely when their data is stored on their local computer hard drive. Having a server for your business is the best way to solve this issue. Small businesses are all different, so they have different server needs. Small business servers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They can vary in storage capacity, available RAM, processing speed, operating system, and more. So of all the computer servers for small business, which one is the right one for you? If you already have an idea of what you need, you can use the table of contents to go directly to the right section.  

Table of Contents

Servers for Small Businesses

At the start, you will likely have many questions about finding the best small business servers for you. How do servers work for small business? How many servers does a small business need? What is the price of computer servers for small business operations? It is smart to ask these questions, and the answers lie in how your business operates. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to satisfy every small business. The needs of an independent accounting office have much different needs than a local music production company. Just as each business has its own tools, it needs its own kind of server as well.

What server does your small business need?

The kind of server you need for your business depends on how you will use the server. Determining how much data you are storing and how large the file sizes are will help you find the amount of storage space and server speed you need. The sensitivity of the data will dictate how secure your server needs to be (including PCI Compliance for storing payment information). The number and intensity of the processes you will run on the server will help you find how much RAM you will need. If you are going to have many users on the server at once, you are going to need more RAM for that as well. The best practice here is to take stock of these points before looking for small business servers that will satisfy your needs.

Types of Servers for Small Business

When you first start looking at your options for a server, you will likely find a vast collection of different names for servers. The results can leave you with a lot more questions than you started with. You will likely see options named networking servers for small business. You will see that companies claim to provide online servers for small business as well. You will also see plenty of tech buzzwords, like when a host offers cloud servers for small business. In truth, these terms are mostly interchangeable. In general, the two basic types of servers are ones you own and ones hosted for you by a knowledgeable professional.

Owning your own servers

The first option is to own your own server. This gives you 100% control of all aspects of the server, from hardware and software to where it is physically located. However, this also gives you 100% of the responsibility and liability. There are many different aspects involved in running and maintaining a server. You will be responsible for buying, installing, repairing, and replacing all pieces of physical hardware. You will also rely on yourself to install the appropriate software and establish the network connection. There is also security that you have to worry about. Not only will your server need strong data protection, it will need to be consistently updated in order to work properly. Even keeping the server at a cool, comfortable temperature is an important factor. Unless you are professionally experienced and up to date in hosting small business servers, owning your own is more trouble than it is worth. Usually, this is only an option when your business has a dedicated infrastructure team. Even then, there are often more important roles those infrastructure team members could fill. More often than not, it is safer and more efficient to find a professional company to host a server for you.

Hosted Physical Servers

There are experienced companies who host small business servers. They take care of the details involved in maintaining the server. In these cases, you pay the host to store your data on a secure server that you can access remotely from anywhere. Though you are not physically purchasing the pieces of hardware and installing them yourself, you usually have a say in how much of each resource you get. It is typical for hosts to offer different packages based on storage amount, ram, operating system, and other aspects. This helps you get the performance you need without spending extra money on unused features. One of the best parts of having a company host your server is the peace of mind that comes with it. Just as your business is an expert in your field, these companies are experts in running secure network servers for small business. Letting professionals take care of your server needs lets you shift your focus over to running your operation. When it comes to running a small business, paying a company to host a server for you is your best bet.

Cloud Servers

Over the past decade, the idea of the cloud has really caught on. For personal matters, like family photos, recipes, etc., it has become one of the top methods home users have for storing data. Many businesses have also jumped on the cloud by offering cloud servers to small businesses. However, this does have a few crucial issues that need to be addressed. Cloud servers are designed to use multiple servers to share the load of multiple people or companies. These machines work together to help manage the data of multiple entities. This often works well with inconsequential data: ebooks, music, games, etc. Unfortunately, cloud servers do not offer the best option for sensitive data. When your business needs to run financial data, store customer card numbers, archive tax documents, or use anything else with important information, you need the ensure your storage location is secure. Often, you are legally obligated to have a certain level of security. A cloud has many moving parts, and it can have a large number of users as well. Each moving part and user could potentially be used as an entry point into the cloud. This gives anyone with malicious intent many potential options to get in. On top of that, the technology behind cloud servers has not caught up to the speed and performance that physical servers provide. Cloud servers are likely not the best choice for your small business.

Dedicated and Virtual Servers for Small Business

The primary difference between hosted physical servers are in whether they are dedicated or virtual.

VPS (Virtual Private Server)

What sets a VPS apart is that it is a physical server that is shared among a only a few different people or companies. Whereas a cloud will serve a larger number of people, a VPS server will usually be limited to about 2 or 3 different sections. Each divided section is its own private, virtual space on the server kept separate from the others digitally. Even though the server itself is shared, you are guaranteed access to the resources that you pay for. This stops other users from overusing the server as a whole, leaving you with slow and lagging service. And since you are sharing the server with others, it will usually cost less than going with a dedicated server just for you. The biggest downsides come to lack of customization and slightly less security. Since the server is used by more than just you, it will give fewer options of how to personalize the details. Also, like with the cloud server, the more entry points into the server, the more options someone could have when attempting to hack in. Since the number of virtual spaces is limited much more than cloud servers, it is still very much safer.

Dedicated Server

On the other side, you have dedicated small business servers. Instead of offering a virtual machine on a shared server, a dedicated server is entirely yours. This makes it cost more, but it gives you more sense of control, resources, and security. You are able to dictate more details about your dedicated server than you would a VPS. You are also completely sure that no one else is using your server. Your data will be as safe as your own practices, meaning you will never have to worry about whether or not anyone sharing your server is lacking on proper security protocol.

The Best Servers for Small Business

Whatever needs you have for your business, there are plenty of options available to you. Rayobyte offers VPS and dedicated servers that can suit your business perfectly. You can customize the size and configuration of our servers to ensure they are exactly what you need while not breaking the bank. This customization includes RAM, SSD storage size, OS (operating system), and geographical location of the server. Our options for RAM help make sure that your server will accommodate any intensive programs as well as having multiple users online simultaneously. We offer varying storage size options to give you plenty of room for everything you need stored on the server. We store data on SSD units instead of SATA to give you access to you stored data with super fast speeds. The ability to customize your OS is important, because it makes sure that your local systems are compatible with your server. We also have multiple locations where we house our servers to offer you a server that is closer to your physical location. The shorter distance your data needs to travel, the faster it will be.

Both our VPS and dedicated servers offer incredible speeds on a 1 Gbps network line. Our dedicated servers come with 10 free terabytes of bandwidth every month, and our VPS gives you access to unlimited bandwidth. You should buy our dedicated servers for your small business needs because they’re fast, reliable, secure, and customizable. They may cost more than cloud servers, but you get all the resources you need with our dedicated servers, instead of having to share them with others. That added performance and security help give you one less thing to worry about. If you hope to scale your business and maintain sole ownership of those resources, Rayobyte servers are the best choice. We have a team available 24/7 to answer any questions you have.

Final Words on Business Servers

Small business servers give you a secure and backed-up place to store your data that can be accessed anywhere at any time. They are the best choice when it comes to managing your business and customer data. Regardless of the specs that are right for you, a VPS or dedicated server can handle your data and processes so that you can focus on more important tasks with your business. If you have thought about your needs but still are not sure which server is best for you, there are experts available to help you decide on your best option.

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