By Steve Moffett
One of the biggest points of confusion I see for small business owners is about servers. It’s a big expense for a small business, but in my experience, very few small business owners know what a server does (or can do), what advantages, disadvantages, costs, and risks a server brings to their business, and what alternatives might exist to what is certainly a major outlay of cash, not to mention blood, sweat, and tears. By the end of this blog series, you’ll have a better understanding of servers, and how to decide if one is right for your business. Let’s start with the decision-making process first, because that applies to everything you do in business – not just technology.
Buying a server should be the same as any other business purchase -- you have to know what you’re trying to achieve, and know specifically how it’s going to increase your bottom line. I’m about to outline the decision making process for this, but first let me say that in my experience, sales folks don’t want to be involved in such a process. Instead they have the express goal of distracting you away from any process that enables you to properly compare their product to the alternatives. But buying technology is really complicated, especially for non-techies, and you have a responsibility to your business, your customers, and your employees to get this right. So when the sales guy calls to sell you a server, tell him to call back in a month or so, and in the meantime, finish my series. When you’re done, you’ll be able to ask the right questions and buy (or not) based on the merits – not the sales pitch.
So here’s my list of questions. If you can answer them honestly, they’ll put you well on your way to making your next major technology decision:
1. What new technology functionality do you expect to get from this purchase? Write out a list.
2. List any other intangible benefits that you expect from this new purchase (for instance, the new solution might enable you to spend more time with family and friends, or travel less often).
3. Explain how the benefits from question 1 and 2 increase your company’s bottom line. Be as rigorous as possible. Quantify the increased income and costs as accurately as possible. If you must, make an educated guess.
4. List all new risks taken on or eliminated by this purchase. Ask yourself if the new risk balance is acceptable and appropriate for you.
5. What are the alternatives? Evaluate each of them as you did in the previous questions, so you can compare apples to apples and make a good decision. (Remember, doing nothing is a valid alternative!)
Now, if you’ve really put your time in on these 5 questions, usually the choice will be quite clear on what you should do. Sometimes it’s not so clear, in which case, doing nothing may be in order. In any case, you will have done your due diligence, and you can feel good knowing you did everything you could to ensure the right decision was made.
So now you have a framework for your decision making process. As this series unfolds, we’ll follow this method specifically as it pertains to servers. We’ll talk about:
· What servers can and can’t do
· How a server might help your bottom line (aka “ROI” or return on investment)
· Some possible intangible benefits from owning your own server
· What sorts of risks a server can bring and/or eliminate for your business
· Some alternatives to owning your own server
So many times I’m called in to work on an existing server, only to find the server is doing very little to make the business better/more profitable, and I wonder what in the world these people were thinking when they purchased. My goal as a technology consultant is to guide decision makers toward better technology decisions, and I hope this series will do just that. If you take this disciplined approach to all your technology decisions, you’ll make better decisions that give you the functionality you need, at the right time, with the right balance of risk and reward that makes sense for you and your business.
I hope you’ll stay with me for the series. In the meantime, your feedback is always welcome, so don’t hesitate to comment, ask questions, or suggest topics for future columns. Until next time, happy computing! -- Steve Moffett
Steve is an independent computer and technology consultant, raised in Meridian, and now living in the “Free State of Jones.” He hopes that one day he can successfully identify every tree living in the woods behind his home. You can learn more about Steve at www.stevemoffett.biz.
©Copyright 2009, SteveMoffett.biz LLC, used by permission.