Server Support Bristol

There are many reasons why Bristol and South West based businesses have their own physical onsite servers or lease cloud server space as opposed to using subscription cloud-based services such as Microsoft Office 365 or G Suite. For many businesses, a combination of onsite and cloud-based IT infrastructure is the best option. For example, maintaining an in-house file server while providing email access in the cloud so that your staff can access their company email from any location and device.

The benefits of in-house servers include:

• Physical control over your server hardware
• Keep your critical data in-house and control who has access to it
• Fast internet connection to access your data isn’t required
• No ongoing subscriptions
• Fast access to large amounts of data 10 TB+

There was a time when even very small companies needed to own and manage their own servers if they needed secure email, file storage or to host specialised applications such as accounting software. With the progress that cloud computing has made over recent years, there is less need to. The cloud has vastly improved in terms of security, access speeds and reliability. However, the decision to move your server infrastructure to the cloud is not always a simple one.

There are many things to consider in the process including:

• Application and Data security, this could include commercial sensitivity, highly confidential information such as client’s medical records as well as the standard GDPR requirements.
• The speed of your broadband connection.
• Bespoke line of business applications, such as ERP software, Databases, Estimating, Scheduling software or Machine control software, that may not work well or are not designed to work over a remote connection.

With our IT services we take everything into account when advising our clients on the best IT strategy for their business. Which means that if your company is operating perfectly well with Windows Small Business Server (SBS), Windows Server 2012 or Microsoft Exchange then we would advise that until the benefits of upgrading outweigh the costs of retaining your existing systems then we are very happy to support you.

Server installations, maintenance, upgrades and migrations

Our Bristol based Windows Server experts can support you with Windows Server installations, maintenance, upgrades and migrations. We’ll ensure that your server software is operating securely and efficiently by applying the latest patches and updates to the Windows server operating system and the programs running on your server.

As part of our IT support plans or tailored server support packages, we provide remote support for your servers and offer 24/7 active server monitoring as well as regular health checks to reduce server downtime. This would include looking at your backup and disaster recovery and business continuity plans. We will also provide on-site visits to resolve any issues that cannot be fixed remotely such as replacing faulty hardware.

The most common Windows Server support issues include:

• Data backups – using Windows Server Backup (WSB)
• Email security and recovering lost emails
• VPN access – for remote access to files and folders
• Hyper-V – Microsoft’s virtualisation software
• BCDR Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
• Raid Health
• Server security
• Active directory management – managing users

Our team provides ongoing support for Windows servers, ensuring that they are working effectively. Call us today to find out how we can support your Bristol business.