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One of the exciting things about the TechConnect services we provide here at NSI Partners is being able to constantly innovate technology solutions for the Small-Medium Business (SMB) universe. From software to hardware to smartphones, technology is often fluid, and one of the advantages of smaller organizations is being able to move swifter with less cost and investment than large enterprises.
A great example of this is a business with multiple locations in one city or regional area that relies on software solutions designed for the more-traditional Local-Area-Network (LAN) architecture. For instance, let’s say your business wants to use a time-sheet program that allows employees to log in and out for the workday and track hours , as well as enabling reports and calendaring features for the admin staff. One such example of this type of program is ShopClock. Designed to work with a Microsoft SQL back-end database residing on a computer in the LAN designated as a server, then allowing workstation or client installs on multiple computers for employees to access and sign in and out. Problems start to appear when you want to have one server at one business location but install licensed copies at other store locations that need to reach out to the server across the internet.
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One traditional solution to this problem is from a hardware perpective: work with your ISP to create a tunneled VPN via routers and switches, or get your own routers with VPN features that tie your public IP addresses together into a Wide Area Network (WAN) allowing the devices at each store to communicate with each other as if they were on the same network. Thousands of dollars can be spent successfully implementing such a solution. A second option that is less than desirable is to install stand-alone server/workstation setups at each location. However, this can cost more as often additional licenses are required, and the stores don’t communicate with each other.
A third solution, and one we enjoy recommending and implementing for our TechConnect SMB clients, is LogMeIn Hamachi. A great product that allows us to do a simple software install at each computer needing access to the WAN, and viola! Instant connectivity between multiple geographical office locations for the purpose of connecting workstations to a server as in the case of ShopClock. This has other obvious uses too, such as file sharing, remote printing, and even includes chat functionality. For a handful of dollars a month, it could take over a decade for the costs of this option to catch up with some of the hardware solutions (not to mention saving on electricity bills and space not being used for additional hardware).
This is just one example of a creative, cost-effective technology solution for a small or medium business that enables the business to focus on growing and servicing customers with excellence, without sacrificing lots of time, energy and money on enterprise-type solutions. If you work with a small or medium business needing better support and implementation of technology, feel free to contact us at tech@nsipartners.com.
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