So, as some of you might know, I manage a small/medium tourism business. As well as GM, I’m also the IT Manager (and Safety Manager, Training Manager, Head Barista, Chief Toilet Cleaner, etc etc. You get the idea…)
I know we’ve got some super clever people here, and I know just enough to get myself into trouble. So, in the interests of “why pay an expert to do something, when I can do it myself in 5x the time” I thought I might try to revamp our IT systems… So, I’m seeking advice.
Our setup is pretty simple: cat-6 right through the building, coming to a passive bay and then to a 16 port SMC Switch. That’s hooked to an ASUS DSL-AC55U that provides our Wifi and incoming VDSL. That all seems to work just fine for us, so not looking to change too much there.
Computer-wise, we have four, and looking to add a fifth (laptop). There’s also a small NAS that I have setup as backup destinations for a couple of important databases that live on one of the PCs. The PCs themselves all function pretty much independently, with a tiny bit of file sharing to what I call the “main” computer. Really that’s just for convenience though. Important files live on our MS365 OneDrive/Sharepoint, so those can be accessed from multiple points. Email is through our web provider and works fine (no shared calendars though).
Finally, we get to the point(s): is it worth adding a small server or similar to host a file share, or is that not likely to add any value over OneDrive? What else could I do with a server that I can’t do currently? I did run a headless media server for a few years at home, so I’m vaguely familiar with the concepts and SSH etc.
Then, email: I’d love to have shared calendars (particularly so I can get my work calendar on my phone) - if I shifted my email across to MS365 (presumably I can keep our domain?) then would that add that capability or add any other value?
Anyways, this is mostly a thought exercise at this point, as I sit here in the office on a Saturday, while it’s sunny out and my kids and wife are out having fun lol. Thanks for listening!
Move your email to 365 if you’re doing licensing there already. You’ll be able to make shared mailboxes to your hearts content. This may be a minor increase to your existing licensing with Microsoft but probably worth it. You’ll offset the cost by dropping your current hosting provider and maybe even get some more Microsoft features while you’re at it.
I’d recommend not putting any servers on site if you don’t have them already. Especially if you’re already using overdrive and Sharepoint. If you need something like a more traditional file share look into azure files.
Servers mean maintenance, security, availability and life cycle management. You’re in a position where nothing to migrate means going straight cloud. Microsoft can provide everything you need and the cost may seem high but it’s worth not having the on premises headache.
Cheers, that seems in line with my current thinking, great to have that backed up. Will check out Azure