So, if you are IT and you’re being asked to make recommendations on which devices your users should use, you also need to figure out how to support them. Should you recommend iPhone? Android? And how to manage them once you have them?

Operating Systems and Software Distribution

Let’s start by comparing the two operating systems and the software distribution systems. iPhone OS is a closed system, but has a robust SDK, thousands of applications, and only two ways to get applications on the device: Through the iTunes App Store or through a distribution provisioning profile that allows signed applications to be installed on a device. Each application has to be installed at the endpoint individually; there is no way to push applications to devices. However because every app is subject to Apple’s approval process or your signed certificate, the iPhone has remained malware free.

Android is on the other hand is an open source OS, but with an equally strong SDK, and a growing list of developers and available applications that are easy to get on the device. There are multiple ways to get applications on the device, signed and unsigned, and as a result there have been reports of malware targeting Android devices. This has opened a market opportunity for 3rd parties to provide software management, anti-malware, and device management services targeted at Android.

Devices and Variety of Features

On the device side, to date there are a limited number of iPhone devices, which physically are almost identical. This makes support a little more straightforward, whereas Android, because of its good economics for device manufacturers (i.e. “free”), comes in a rapidly widening variety. You can get them with keyboard, keyboard-less, different screen sizes, feature sets, etc. This can be a challenge to support.

Networks and Carriers

Related to the variety of devices, Android is available, or soon will be on all major carriers. iPhone users must use AT&T, at least for now. For the multi-campus enterprise, a single provider may just not work for all potential users. And then, what happens when your user travels to another country?

What Next?

Blackberry has several OS5 devices out, Nokia is coming out with more Maemo/MeeGo devices, and Microsoft has previewed its Windows Mobile7 that will be out later this year. Recently, reports have come out showing that the velocity of Android entering the marketplace exceeds the initial surge of the iPhone. (Android outsold the iPhone in the first 74 days, or the time for the iPhone to hit the 1 million mark).

Android is clearly making in-roads into the enterprise (for recent data, look at the ” Mobile Worker Report “). Third parties, such as iPass, are planning to support Android. Apple is not about to willing cede any marketshare, so we anticipate new devices and new versions of their OS this year.

This is going to be a tremendous year for mobile devices, which means a busy year in corporate IT.

Hope this helps!

If you have any questions or would like to find out more, please call or email me!

Sincerely,

Aaron Schlagel
President
S2 Consulting, Inc.
info@s2consulting.net
505-692-4953

What’s in it for nonprofits? Gmail: Includes email accounts on your organization’s domain. Best of all, you can access your email account anytime, anywhere, even if you are offline. Google also provides email migration tools so you do not have to worry about losing existing email. In addition, you can opt to use Gmail via an IMAP account and sync it to Outlook.

And yes! You can customize Gmail to fit the look and feel of your organization (logo and colors). Did I mention that you also have a 7+ GB inbox quota?

Google Calendar: Integrated into Gmail, calendars can be shared company-wide or with select co-workers. In addition, you can access your calendar on your iPhone or blackberry and even receive calendar notifications via text messages.

Google Docs: This is perhaps my favorite feature. It gives you the flexibility to create and access your documents from anywhere. You can say good bye to carrying USB drives or emailing attachments to yourself. With Google Docs all you need to have is access to the Internet to create and share a Word, PowerPoint or Excel document. And you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues between the different operating systems. Google Docs can be read by Macs, PCs and even Linux computers.

Google Talk: Also integrated into Gmail, Google allows you to share quick thoughts in real time. You can exchange quick chats right within Gmail. This feature is especially useful if you need to have a quick answer right away (e.g., you are on the phone and need more information from a co-worker). In addition, you can receive files in Google Talk. Forgot to bring that financial report to a meeting? No problem. Your co-workers can send it to you instantly via Google Talk.

Google Apps are packed with powerful spam filtering and customizable security features. The Google team has some of the world’s foremost experts in information, application and network security. Remember that even though Google Apps is free for nonprofits, big businesses, with highly sensitive corporate data, do pay for these services and they expect the system to be reliable and secure…and it is.

Advantages of Google Apps for Nonprofits

What to Do Next?

Find out if your nonprofit qualifies United States non-profit organization with under 3,000 users with current 501(c)(3) status and verified by 9-digit Employee ID Number
Complete the Sign-up form on the Google Apps webpage
Learn more about Google Apps for Nonprofits

Hope this helps!

If you have any questions or would like to find out more, please call or email me!

Sincerely,

Aaron Schlagel
President
S2 Consulting, Inc.
info@s2consulting.net
505-692-4953

The smart phones of the present days are the constant companions wherever we go and use these wonder devices for a variety of useful chores in our daily lives. To enrich our user experience of these devices there are millions of iPhone Apps and Android apps that can be used for achieving many things. These iPhone apps and Android apps are becoming powerful marketing tools for the present day marketer penetrates the highly affluent and vibrant segment of our society. The days have come when the iPhone Apps and the Android apps are becoming effective alternatives to the desktop websites that have been designed for the conventional personal computer.

These iPhone apps are developed and marketed not only as an alternative to the websites but also as a tool for building your brand name and popularizing it among the elite group of smart phone users. Various mobile apps are making it possible to bring the business information of the companies into an app that becomes useful to the users as well as effectively communicating their business information and able to bring new customers to their businesses. The iPhone app development is being done by thousands of businesses with particular emphasis to build their brands online and making their businesses popular among the millions of iPhone users.

You must understand that there are certain things the iPhone app and Android app can accomplish that a website cannot. These mobile apps, are a great way to encourage word of mouth recommendations and salesmanship in a marketing scenario as they offer portability & mobility through which you can easily show anyone, anytime through the iPhone app and Android app what you’re interested in, or what you would like to share and to recommend to others in real-time. These are far better effective than emailing someone and waiting for a response. The mobile applications that are run in an iPhone and Android are very good for real-time interactions as instant messages; notifications and alerts can be sent to the iPhone easily. This makes possible the instant sending of marketing messages to the iPhone app and andriod app users directly.

Social networking is emerging as one of the best marketing platforms in the present days and the ability of the iPhone and smart phone for social media integrations are being used for best Android apps and iPhone apps that can easily target and get into the social media integrations giving enormous lift to your marketing efforts.

Hope this helps!

If you have any questions or would like to find out more, please call or email me!

Sincerely,

Aaron Schlagel
President
S2 Consulting, Inc.
info@s2consulting.net
505-692-4953

In this article I will try and save you some time and headaches, I will be going over the main steps you will want to take when trying to fix a connection problem within Windows 7. The first is of course, restarting the computer, your router and your modem. If after this the connection is still not working correctly you may want to try some of these next steps.

Before we even get started, it’s worth looking at your network. Most of our office networks still run on IPv4 protocols, not the new IPv6. If that’s true in your case, opposite click on your network icon in the System Tray and select “Network and Sharing Center”. Then click on the appropriate network adapter and click “Change Adapter Settings”. Simply un-check the box next to IPV6.

First try resetting Internet Explorers options, do this by opening up your control panel. Select “Internet Options”. In this window click on the “Advanced” tab, near the bottom of this tab you should see a button that says reset. Click on it, Then click OK. Close Internet Explorer then restart the computer again. Try your Internet.

If the above does not work then there may be a problem within Windows 7′s network. So you will want to try resetting that as well. To accomplish this, you will first need to open the run window. To do this press and hold the windows logo key, and while holding it press the letter R. You should see the “Run/Open” window appear. Type the following into the line, then click OK.

netsh int ip reset log.txt

When you click OK you should see a black screen come up, stay open for a moment or two, then disappear. After this window goes away go ahead and restart the computer again. Let Windows 7 fully load, then open up Internet Explorer and try the Internet connection again.

If this does not do it you can try flushing your DNS cache. To do this you will need to open the Run/Open window the same way as described above. However this time type the following into the window then click ok.

ipconfig /flush_dns

Another black screen will appear for a moment or two, then it will disappear. Go ahead and restart the computer and let Windows 7 fully load back to the desktop before trying your Internet again.

If at this point your connection is still not working properly you will want to go over any security software you have installed. Typically new computers will come with Norton Internet Security or McAfee Internet Security pre-installed. Open up the control panel for either program and look for things like firewalls, and filtering software. Try disabling it, do not worry after a reboot they should be turned back on automatically. You may even want to try adding Internet Explorer to the trusted programs list. Sometimes called Exceptions List.

If you are using a router, you can even try by-passing it temporarily. Do this by turning everything off, take the wire running from your computer to the router and switch it to the modem itself. Turn on the modem, wait 3-5 minutes for it to load then turn on the computer again. Let Windows 7 boot up, then try Internet Explorer again. If it works now, the problem lies within the router itself. Could be a bad router, or it may need to be re-configured.

For that matter take a look at the modem itself and make sure all the proper lights are on and solid. Activity lights may or may not blink with activity on the network, however the rest of the lights should be on and steady. A blinking light typically indicates a problem with that part of the connection.

If that last step fails you will most likely want to call your Internet provider and have them walk you through all the settings. Diagnosing a bad connection can be hard even for the most seasoned IT professional, so do not become disheartened if the above does not work for all issues. None of the above is detrimental to your machine, the netsh command simply tells windows to rebuild the TCP/IP portion of your network on the next start up. Just remember if you disable your security software while troubleshooting to re-enable it once everything is working again. Or remove it and install a different program to take its place.

If you are using a dialup connection as apposed to a broad band connection you may even want to try deleting and re-creating the connection itself. For dialup connections some bits of information are stored directly inside of the actual connection and not within Windows 7 itself. Deleting and re-creating these connections can some times fix Internet problems on any version of Windows.

Also bear in mind, any type of parental software or Internet monitoring software that is installed could be causing browsing issues as well. These types of programs need low level access to your connection and because of this they can cause issues when Windows 7 attempts to open an Internet resource.

One last item that bears mentioning, User Accounts. Make sure that you are logged into an Administration account when trying any of the suggestions here. To check your account type, open up your control panel and you should see a “Users” section. Simply open it and verify that you are in an administration account. If you are not, you may need to contact the location you purchased the PC from for instructions on accessing the Admin account.

Hope this helps!

If you have any questions or would like to find out more, please call or email me!

Sincerely,

Aaron Schlagel
President
S2 Consulting, Inc.
info@s2consulting.net
505-692-4953

Everyone knows that the first obstacle is gone. Most people don’t realise that the second one has also disappeared.

Google Apps removed that second obstacle. Years ago, Google applications had shortcomings. They were good, but limited. That wasn’t such a big deal since they were free. Apart from that, many business people were suspicious of them: if they were free, something had to be wrong with them. Yet, Google played a clever game. With time and feedback from millions of users, they perfected the applications. Suddenly, people took Google Apps very seriously.

Google Mail and Calendar offer similar features to those of Microsoft Outlook, but with a lot less hassle. For one thing, Google Apps doesn’t have to be installed and this is a huge advantage. It means you never need to worry about updates, upgrades or malware because the version you’re working with is always the latest. You save your work on Google’s secure servers; if your hard disk crashes or your premises are vandalized, your data is safe. You or your colleagues can access it anytime, anywhere.

Much of this is still available free with Google Apps Standard Edition. But, at $50 per user, per year, the paid-for version – Google Apps Premium Edition – provides significant additional benefits to a small business.

Here are the four most important Google Apps benefits:
1) Operational Reliability

99.9% uptime guaranteed. That kind of reliability is a godsend for any business. It brings peace of mind that money couldn’t buy. It’s a much higher level of reliability than most businesses could hope for with an in-house system like the typical Outlook client / Exchange server setup.

2) No Software to Install

You never again need to be concerned about upgrading software or, worse still, trying to figure out what’s wrong with it. You no longer even need a mail server.

3) Unlimited Number of Users

While the free version is limited to 50 users per organization, the Google Apps Premium Edition has no limit. And each user is allocated a mammoth 25GB of email storage.

4) Existing Domain Name

If you wish, you can use your existing business domain name. So, a user can have an email account like name @ yourdomain.com

If you’re technical, you could consider carrying out the migration from Outlook to Google Apps yourself. But there are very good reasons for letting IT professionals do it. The job will be handled more efficiently and you’ll have peace of mind knowing that it will be done right. Crucially, the IT professionals will be available after the migration to ensure the changeover is trouble free.

Software as a service (SaaS) has finally arrived. Google is the most experienced company in this field. Google has had years to perfect the process and all the constituent applications. Old-fashioned bulky servers and the endless hardware and software hassles that go with them are an anachronism. Everyday, forward thinking businesses are joining the future by migrating to cloud computing with Google Apps. This may sound like an advertising slogan, but it sums up an IT breakthrough that’s perhaps the most revolutionary in decades.

Hope this helps!

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about migrating your business, please call or email me!

Sincerely,

Aaron Schlagel
President
S2 Consulting, Inc.
info@s2consulting.net
505-692-4953

The sad fact is, sales reps have a low threshold when it comes to change. When somethings not broken, they wonder “why fix it?” In the world of sales, it’s all about making the sale happen quickly and effectively. To a sales rep, a CRM program seems like a waste of time. This is because similar systems may have been limited in their functionality. In addition, a CRM program requires current, up-to-date information. If only a portion of your sale reps are using this system then your company is not getting accurate results.

When sales reps are effectively trained on the CRM system, sales reps then become more effective producers. This makes the process work for everyone. Traditionally sales is a dog eat dog world but in the end it’s the company that matters. So the one question of concern is “What can I do to get my sales team to use CRM software?”

Below are some great ways you can get your sales reps to use a CRM system:

- Automate Your Systems – whenever possible automate the lead and prospect systems. This could, for example, be as simple as adding a “Contact Us” web form to your website.

- Sales Pipeline Reports – implement monthly sales pipeline reports right away. Leads coming in and how they are distributed are shown via the Sales Funnel system a.k.a Pipeline reports. These steps include informing the potential customer, persuading them, overcoming their objections and so on until the customer reaches the narrow part of the funnel – closing the sale. Pipeline reports show how many leads came in and where they are in the process. Future sales can be determined by these reports.

- Setting Goals – Set small yet specific goals during sale meetings for using the CRM program.

- Focus on the Essentials – Be sure to focus on the essential and main functions of the CRM program. This will show your reps the most important systems within the CRM system to use.

- Knowledge is Power – You can’t always assume that everyone in your office knows how the system works. Verify their knowledge and confidence in using the program. – Provide Training – If a member of your sales team needs training on the system, provide it for them in a private setting when possible. You don’t want a member of your sales team to feel singled out.

- Increase Commission Frequency – Paying commissions more frequently is an added incentive to your sales reps. To make administrative processes easier, many organizations pay on a quarterly basis.

- One Step at a Time – When implementing a CRM program into your company, implement one thing at a time. If you try to implement all processes at one time you will send your sales reps into overload and this can scare them away from using the system.

- Keep it Simple – Find a CRM system that is easy to use for everyone. The system does you no good if only a few people can use it.

- Review and Analyze – Consistently monitor the sales reps data. This can show you their strengths and weaknesses.

- Seek Assistance – While your sales reps will hesitate using the system, assist them by having an assistant import any historical data into the new system. This makes things easier as the sales reps are only responsible for current data.

- See the Big Picture – Be sure your sales reps can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Give them reports that show them how this software can benefit them in the end.

- Beware of Overlapping – Make sure the CRM system doesn’t become a tool for other departments to offload their tasks. This is a system for your sales team.

- Show Me the Money – Be sure that the system can accommodate your commission agreements. Making the numbers accessible to each rep will help them a lot; they like seeing the numbers.

- On the Web – choose a program that is web accessible. This will make it easier for sale reps to gain access from wherever they are.

- Remind – Automate email reminders and new leads where possible. This will assist in building interest from your sales reps and will keep reminders so a customer is never lost in the abyss.

- Develop Email Campaigns – by implementing regular email campaigns to send out to prospects, you can assist in gaining leads for your sales reps. His is typically done by a marketing team.

- Look Over the Data – By reviewing contacts and numbers within the CRM system, you’ll be able to see the big picture from both sides. Contacts often benefit more then the actual numbers. This information will assist the sales reps in being more effective.

- Acknowledge the Team – You’ll also want to use CRM data to showcase individual accomplishments during dales meetings.

- Reprimand When Needed – If your sales reps are hesitant to use this new system, stand firm and stress the benefits of the system and how everyone will benefit from it in the end.

- Cross Check the Data – By checking the CRM system’s data with data from other sources, you can compare areas of strengths and weaknesses. This is a great thing to do before each sales meeting.

- Connect to Success – CRM software should be an integral part of your business. You can use the CRM system to show your reps how they can use the system and be even more successful.

A CRM system will play a major role in the success of your sales reps which in turn helps the growth and profitability of the company as a whole. While they may be hesitant to use such a system in the beginning, once they see how this system will enhance their work and in the end their sale – they’ll come on-board.

If you have any questions or are ready to get started just contact me.

Sincerely,

Aaron Schlagel
President
S2 Consulting
505-692-4953
info@s2consulting.net
4001 North Butler
Suite 3102
Farmington, NM 87401

The most important advantage of VoIP is reduction in cost. Since it is a voice over internet, it is considered as data service and you will be exempted from the fees of long distance. This is the reason many VoIp service provider offer low rates for long distance and internationals calls.

Extra services like caller ID, call waiting, conference calls are also offered by some VoIp providers if you are ready to pay extra cost for it. You can also choose a virtual phone number with an area code different from yours with some broadband phone providers. For instance, if you live in NY and your relatives or friends live in Ohio. You can choose a virtual number for Ohio. When they call you from Ohio, they will not be charged for long distance calls.

Along with these advantages, there are some disadvantages as well from VoIP phone services, VoIP phones depend on the quality of your internet service, if you have good internet then the quality of calls will also be very good, if not then you will notice a bad quality calls. And for VoIP phones services, you need a broadband internet and dial up will not work in this case.

If you are out of power, then VoIP phone will not work for you, or if your internet service is down then it will not work again. It is always safe to have second phone line in case of emergencies.

If you have any questions or are ready to get started just contact me.

Sincerely,

Aaron Schlagel
President
S2 Consulting
505-692-4953
info@s2consulting.net
4001 North Butler
Suite 3102
Farmington, NM 87401

Take Your Business Online

So let’s start by transitioning slowly. You can transition by using an application service provider. There are two companies that are approved by Intuit. One is Insync and the other is Rightnetworks. You and your clients will be able to work over the Internet by remoting in to a virtual desktop. It is secure and backed up daily. You have the capability to be anywhere and print your documents, too. You can even upload and download your documents to your C: drive on your computer. If your client is in the file all you have to do is make sure they are in multi-user mode.

Other technology you can use to access your clients data remotely are Logmein and Webex. Although these companies are great to use there are some limitations. The computer you are accessing needs to be on and connected to the Internet and you may need to check with your client to see if they are going to using the computer.

Once you have the remote access area down pat, start converting your office to become paperless. Companies like Sourcelink http://www.personable.com/ and Smartvault are great to use. They are document management systems. They link the invoices into QuickBooks data files so that you can share the documents easily with accountants and bookkeepers.

Next is how do you pay the bills? Some clients like traditional methods like printing checks and federal expressing the package back to the client. This can become costly. You can use online banking or there is http://www.bill.com. This site is pretty neat. You fax in your bills, the bookkeeper can code them, it imports into QuickBooks and it sends an email to be authorized to be paid.

With these basic steps of transition you are on your way to becoming a remote office. As you are converting your practice to using some of these technologies, remember to do it step by step. You will be through your conversion in no time.

I hope this helps you with your conversion!

If you have any questions or are ready to get started just contact me.

Sincerely,

Aaron Schlagel
President
S2 Consulting
505-692-4953
info@s2consulting.net
4001 North Butler
Suite 3102
Farmington, NM 87401

First of all, note that sites with static pages such as blogs can run on either Windows or Linux hosting platforms. These only use HTML and CSS, which are supported equally well by both operating systems.

When you require dynamic content on your website, such as eCommerce facilities, forums or other forms of scripting, then you need to pay attention to your hosting platform.

Traditionally, Linux servers are used for scripts based on PHP or Perl. These scripts include WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and many other blogging or content management systems. Windows servers, on the contrary, are used with scripts written in ASP, ASP(dot)Net or Access. MySQL works equally well with both Windows and Linux. Today, cross-platform scripting – that is, scripting with PHP/Perl on Windows or with ASP/ASP(dot)NET/Access on Linux – is permitted by some ISPs.

However, cross-platform scripting will never give the smooth performance that a program does when run on its native platform – it is a bit like using emulators to run programs that are not native to the OS. There is one exception here, though – PHP runs equally well on Windows and Linux, so Linux-based hosting is no longer essential to run PHP-based scripts and applications.

Most computer geeks will advise you to go for Linux hosting, as Unix – on which Linux is based – is a far more secure and stable platform than Windows’ alternative. While this is demonstrably true – think of the millions of viruses for Windows systems, and the rare bug that crops up in Linux – it is also true that efficient server administration can render a Windows system as secure as a Linux one.

Speedwise, there is no clear winner between Windows and Linux. Some things work faster on Windows, while others work faster on Linux. So to choose between operating systems, cost and security would have to be the deciding factors. Linux here is substantially cheaper, as it is an open-source system, and most of its applications are also under GNU public licenses – in other words, free. Windows hosting comes with the added cost of the OS, and certain applications that the hosting company has to continually pay for.

As for the ASP-PHP comparison, ASP is almost universally the winner where speed is concerned. However, the learning curve in ASP or ASP(dot)NET is much steeper than in PHP – something that can backfire for advanced users looking for greater control and freedom. PHP, however, is still one of the most popular scripts around thanks to its versatility and the solid, useful applications being written using it.

In the end, choosing between Windows ASP and Linux PHP as hosting platforms becomes a matter of individual preference and contingent need. Depending on your budget, security concerns and familiarity with the computer language, you can pick either of them and successfully run a dynamic website for a long time to come.

A Workgroup, also known as a peer to peer network, allows you to share files, printers, scanners and other resources. Typically, with a Workgroup, you make every workstation a member of the same workgroup, and set up shared folders on one or more workstations. You can also set up your printer to be shared. If you have an extra computer, you can designate it as a dedicated sharing computer. This computer then becomes a pseudo-server. It’s not a “real” file server, but operates as one, with limited functionality.

A Domain provides this functionality and much more, by having one or more File Servers, and workstations attaching to the Domain to access the Server(s) which manage security as well as access rights. Think of a Domain as a city, within which exist businesses (File Servers), and residences (WorkStations).

So…which is right for you? If you have a small business with very few employees, and are not too concerned with security of your data, or access rights to folders, a Workgroup will do just fine.

Some things to consider with a Workgroup:

1. It’s best to have one computer act as a Server, and have the other computers share files from that “Server”. This cuts down on traffic. If you have several computers sharing their drives, and users are going back and forth from one machine to another to access data, there will be more traffic on your LAN, causing collisions and bogging things down.

2. It’s also a good idea if possible to have one computer be a dedicated Server. This minimizes the possibility of having a user “hang up” the computer he/she is working on, thus locking the other users out of the system while it is being re-booted. Additionally, if no one is using that computer while is is working as a Server, chances are it will be less exposed to potential virus or malware attacks.

3. Any machine that works as a server should be protected by a good UPS; that is, a battery backup unit.

4. The machine that acts as a server should have its Power Options disabled, Hibernation disabled, and its NIC (Network Interface Card) set to not shut down to save energy. Any of these features enabled could make the Server inaccessible to the workstations.

5. The Server must have a backup device with backup software programmed to perform unattended backups. Ideally, as part of a good disaster recovery plan, your network should also have a remote or on-line backup in place. (what good is your backup if you can’t get to your data?).

A Domain give you many more features than a Workgroup. This is an overview of things to consider and benefits of setting up a Domain:

1. First, your workstations MUST run Windows XP Professional, or Vista or Windows 7 Business Edition. These versions of Windows are designed to work with Domains.

2. Your Domain will include at minimum 1 File Server. This File Server will be a Domain Controller. As a Domain Controller, the File Server (if running any server version of Windows) will host Active Directory. Active Directory is a database that will store each user’s name, with their assigned access rights based on the groups they belong to. For instance, a user can be a member of Group Domain Users and have access to files and folders, or he/she could be a member of Group Domain Admins, giving him/her rights to anything on the network. Active Directory also keeps track of computers, so it knows not only which user is authorized to logon to the Domain, but also which Computers can attach.

3. Domain Controllers use Policies. These policies can simplify management of the users and computers on the network, by implementing rights and managing access when a user logs on to the Domain.

4. Security and permissions are very granular in a Domain. That is, you can be as general or as specific as you need with regards to giving users access to folders and files. A good up-front, well thought out design of your Network will help you simplify data organization and management as your network grows.

5. Getting back to the Server; a server should have redundancy for its disk drives. For small networks, a mirrored drive system will do. For larger networks, a RAID 5 system might work best. In a mirrored drive system, your File Server will house 2 identical disk drives. Both drives will appear to you as only one. On the server, you will see one C: drive. When you write or save a file, it is saved on both drives simultaneously. The benefit of course, is that if one drive crashes, you can continue to operate off the other drive. Many servers offer “Hot Swap” drives. This allows you to remove the defective drive and replace it with a new one, without shutting down the server. The server will detect the new drive and you can rebuild the data to the new mirror.

6. Another big benefit to having a Domain is central management. For instance, you can install an Anti-Virus program on the Server which will update its virus definition files regularly. The sofware on the server can be deployed to the workstations, and that software can be programmed so all the workstations have the same features enabled or disabled. Additionally, the server can “push” the virus definitions to the workstations, thus ensuring all workstations are on the same version. This can be done with other programs as well, it is not strictly for Anti-Virus protection.

This is a birdseye view of Domains and Workgroups. There is of course, much more to them. Many books have been written on the subject. The hope is that this concise information will help you reach an educated decision on your selection of Workgroup or Domain for your small business.