Drew Robb

If you’re looking for an alternative to Microsoft for running your small business, Novell, Inc, may have the answer you seek. Last month, the company introduced the Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition, a Linux-based program that includes desktop and server operating systems, management tools, an office productivity suite, collaboration software and numerous applications. […]

We’re all familiar with the competitive drive to buy or build the biggest and the best. It’s human nature and the reason we have clichés such as “keeping up with the Jones’.” In the computer processor world, it’s a particularly prevalent mentality. The gold standard used to be the processor with the most Megahertz (MHz). […]

If you’re concerned about sensitive data leaving your small business, it’s time to pay attention. Code Green Networks Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif, has announced what’s known as a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) appliance. Designed for companies with 50-250 employees, the CI-750 helps keep a lid on data leaks. “The CI-750 resides at an organization’s […]

The first article in this series highlighted how small businesses can harness online backup as the cornerstone of their disaster recovery actions. This article will go beyond online backup and look at cost-effective options available for organizations that want to either perform the backups themselves or just go a bit further. While setting up a […]

Online backup seems to be all the rage as of late. Vendors are springing up either catering to a specific niche or claiming to do everything for next to nothing. While such services aren’t likely to attract enterprise customers, they are certainly luring many small businesses. All you have to do is sign up, decide […]

Have you ever been out in the field and tried to connect to the organization’s file server over the Internet? Or tried to access the database from hundreds of miles away? Or perhaps open and run an important business application remotely? If it took ages to open a document, access an application or view a […]

Only a few months ago, ServerWatch reviewed the Dell 2950 server. Since then, the company has followed up with the Dell PowerEdge 2970. Not only are the server model numbers very similar, so too are the specs — with one big exception: Instead of Xeon chips, the 2970 is AMD Opteron dual-core processor based. “In […]

Oh for the good old days when security meant sturdy locks, adequate fencing, window grills and a bad-tempered German Shepard. But computers are a different story and require all manner of virus and malware protections – along with firewalls, intrusion prevention systems (IPS) and encryption. Well, for good measure, here’s yet another one – Network […]

Storage has garnered a reputation as being a complex and esoteric realm within IT. But those days may be over if vendors like StorServer Inc. of Colorado Springs, Colo., have anything to do with it. StorServer has released a series of appliances designed to add simplicity and plug-and-play features to the storage universe. “An appliance […]

Printer ink costs a small fortune. Now tell small business owners something they don’t already know. But how do ink prices stack up against other high-priced fluids that we depend on? Everybody thinks gas is expensive these days. Water is far pricier at somewhere north of $10 a gallon. But it’s even worse with printer […]

It isn’t just the big boys that are under the gun on the subject of e-mail privacy; today the bull’s-eye is on mid-sized companies. A vice president in Southern Commercial Bank, for example, accidentally included the private information of 40,000 customers in an unencrypted e-mail. The Federal Trade Commission investigated BJ’s Wholesale Club for not […]

The days are long past when many small businesses could get by with their files stored on desktops or one small server. In an era of PowerPoint presentations, videos and graphics files disk space fills up and maxes out too quickly. “Digital storage demand is increasing from thirty to over fifty percent annually and is […]