Small Business Offerings

[adam_ski]

An ex-colleague of mine has just setup a business with 4 others and wants the same kind of facilities he used to enjoy while working for a large national company. At the moment they use POP3 & have no means of connecting into their network remotely. I'm used to the larger corporate systems; does anyone have suggestions on cheap, secure, reliable alternatives which will allow them to have a business e-mail server, and remote access to their files & e-mails?

Remote Access - Checkpoint with SecureClient
Thin Client - Citrix
E-mail Server - Exchange 2003/OWA

I know there are numerous alternatives I'd really appreciate it if you've had experience of installing & administering them
Thanks

[roadsweeper]

Hi Adam

My company ( www.cantarus.co.uk ) can easily set up the things you are looking for. We offer fully-functional web hosting and email facilites, the latter fully web-enabled to allow clients to access their email through a web browser.

For remote access they have a number of options - we have servers hosted on high-speed (up and down) Internet connections which our other clients VPN into. Citrix is an alternative of course if they don't already have desktop/laptop PCs.

Regarding Exchange, it's expensive and you don't need it for a company that size. We can also offer online Calendar and Task management, including sharing between users and you can choose to integrate this functionality with Outlook. Since we already own all the software and just have to add Client Access Licences (CALs) it's very cheap to deliver this functionality.

I'll drop you an email with my work email address or you can contact me through our website.

Cheers.

Lee.

>> Edited by roadsweeper on Saturday 28th January 16:11

[adam_ski]

Thanks Lee. Hosting could be a good alternative I'll know more on Friday. The list was to illustrate the functionality required & certainly NOT suggested solutions - I agree with your analysis, it's what we use in a company with over 6000 employees, not the same as a business with 5 employees!
Adam

[UpTheIron]

adam_ski said:

Remote Access - Checkpoint with SecureClient Thin Client - Citrix

Take a look at:

- Citrix Access Gateway (SSL VPN)
- Citrix Access Essentials (basically a small business version of Presentation Server, runs as a one box wonder).

The CAG can be used to provide secure access to the CAE Server, and also to Exchange / other mail solution.

[plasticpig]

If they want their own server you can get a solution from dell which would include SBS 2003 server with 5 CALS and a backup solution. This would give you exchange server with web client and outlook client. Sharepoint server for web accesible file sharing. You would not get terminal services unless they were willing to use it in administrative mode. You would also need some Antivirus software.

For VPN I would recommend a Cisco Pix Firewall. You would also need a switch and some cabling for the office unless they could live with wirless?

As a rough estimate of costs I would say.

£1300 for Dell server including SBS, Antivirus and Backup.
£240 for Cisco Pix
£200 for Linksys switch, cabling and wirless access point.
£150 for black and white laser printer + Inkjet.
£50 a month for business broadband

Any half decent IT bod should be able to get the whole lot setup in two days but if your looking for somone to do it shop round and get a fixed quote.

You should be able to shave off at least 500 off the hardware cost by using diffrent hardware. I only recommend what I have used and know works.

[docevi1]

I would recommend the Dell SBS route as well, it even offers remote connectivity based on the induvidual machines (i.e. you remote desktop onto one of the machines). It's very easy to set up, administer, use and offers a hell of a lot out of the box.

The other benefit to using SBS is the use of Exhange with Outlook2003 embedded. Not only can you set up Outlook to work remotely from your Exchange server but there is also the OWA and OMA (Outlook Web / Mobile Access).

[adam_ski]

plasticpig said:

£240 for Cisco Pix

PIX-501-BUN-K9 PIX 501 3DES Bundle (Chassis, SW, 10 Users, 3DES) - Does it now have a Web style interface or are they configured through the more traditional Cisco IOS? Have you had experience of setting one up?

[plasticpig]

adam_ski said:

plasticpig said: £240 for Cisco Pix PIX-501-BUN-K9 PIX 501 3DES Bundle (Chassis, SW, 10 Users, 3DES) - Does it now have a Web style interface or are they configured through the more traditional Cisco IOS? Have you had experience of setting one up?

Yes their is a web interface called Pix device manager. But you can also use IOS. I have experience of setting them up although thats not my main function. Admittidley they are not the easiest bits of kit to configure but they have a good reputation. Infact my company wont sell anything else but Cisco for VPN (were a Cisco partner).

[malman]

plasticpig said:

adam_ski said: plasticpig said: £240 for Cisco Pix PIX-501-BUN-K9 PIX 501 3DES Bundle (Chassis, SW, 10 Users, 3DES) - Does it now have a Web style interface or are they configured through the more traditional Cisco IOS? Have you had experience of setting one up? Yes their is a web interface called Pix device manager. But you can also use IOS. I have experience of setting them up although thats not my main function. Admittidley they are not the easiest bits of kit to configure but they have a good reputation. Infact my company wont sell anything else but Cisco for VPN (were a Cisco partner).

The PDM can be a bit lacking and you some time have to resort to the IOS but otherwise a fairly sturdy bit of kit. I would also checkout Netscreen 5GT bit easier to setup and admin if you don't already know IOS.

[agent006]

plasticpig said:

£1300 for Dell server including SBS, Antivirus and Backup. £240 for Cisco Pix £200 for Linksys switch, cabling and wirless access point. £150 for black and white laser printer + Inkjet. £50 a month for business broadband

That's the best solution IMO. Citrix is viable on a larger system but licensing costs are prohibitive sor such a small setup as this. Plus it takes a lot of looking after.

[Adam_ski]

agent006 said:

That's the best solution IMO. Citrix is viable on a larger system but licensing costs are prohibitive sor such a small setup as this. Plus it takes a lot of looking after.

I agree Citrix is for larger companies, but I've never had any problems once it's installed, as long as users understand the impact of printing large quantities off, then I've never, ever had any issues with it

[plasticpig]

Adam_ski said:

I agree Citrix is for larger companies, but I've never had any problems once it's installed, as long as users understand the impact of printing large quantities off, then I've never, ever had any issues with it

Where Citrix wins out is on dial up connections. Terminal services is fine on Broadband /3G but I find unusable on a 56k/GPRS connection. If you have to print large documents using Citrix take a look at Thinprint as this does a far better job than Citrix alone.