or: I Don’t Have Time For This Right Now

1. Simplified User Management and Permissions
2. Public, Private, or User’s Choice for files & folders
3. Easy User Server Space Setup - Default Layout for
4. Server Queue - groupthink files, tag clouds, general shared resources
5. Disk Imaging built in

My business has 14 employees, 2 laptops, 3 terminals, and 1 Windows Business server in the closet. We use this network for the following things:

• QuickBooks - running our relatively large QB Pro database on a server instead of a end-user terminal means that in the busiest billing time of the day that we don’t have one persons computer slow to a crawl. QuickBooks says they support “servers” but what they really mean is “one persons computer can act as the QB server”. We completely floored the Tech Support people on their staff by using the term “server” as it is meant to be used, not as their typical moron customer. QB does not offer any semblance of a server-side service or application. Period. We pay for one extra license to have this service. This means the server has to be up, logged in QB loaded, and locked out.
• DentLab for QuickBooks - this is a case-management software package for our lab. We purchased this because of the low cost, only to find out at the point-of-purchase that we have to pay an additional $250/month to receive ANY tech support (phone or email or otherwise) or to get any of the software updates. Beyond that, this is a symbiotic program that runs congruent with QuickBooks. It also runs on our server. See, any instance of this program running on any computer has to at least reference the primary instance running alongside QB. So, we have an extra license of this as well. If you’re reading this to find out info about DentaLab for QB, then don’t buy it.
• Storage - we have every intent of using this as a storage space for every person in the lab - but we can’t manage permissions without a degree in Computer Science. For example, I am an Administrator, and I have an account name. I have a folder on the server. For permissions on that folder, I added ALL SUPERVISORS and ME and made Read/Write/Change the option of choice - still can’t access it when I’m logged in from somewhere else.

In my opinion, the ideal small business server solution would be a simplified permissions scheme that allows the admin (or any admin) to quickly log in (remotely if necessary) and add news users, the new users default folder, disk storage quota, and email (if necessary). Then, the user should be given the choice of storing files on the server, where, and whether they’re publicly available.

Secondly, there should be a public queue system that allows specified members of whatever group to assign files to the group, tag them, search them, index them, etc… quickly and easily find collaborative information.

Finally, there should be automatic scheduling of imaging of groups, files, folders, or the whole disk.

That’s my two cents.