According to a 2023 pulse check survey conducted by DBS, which gauged the priorities of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners for improving their businesses, 21 percent of respondents cited digital transformation and business model innovation as their main goal. This goes to show how important technology has become to businesses, whether big or small, all so that they can ensure they’ll be able to keep up with the growing demands of their customers.
However, if you’re an SME owner yourself, chances are, you probably have limited resources compared to larger companies. Like your peers, you may be looking to get the most out of your money when purchasing new technology or equipment. A microserver, or a server that’s built specifically for smaller applications typically necessitated by SMEs, maybe one of your best investments for modernising your company and helping it achieve a more digitalised, data-driven approach.
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Not all microservers can offer you the same power and flexibility right out of the box, so you’ll need to choose the right one for your business’s needs. Here are five key features that you should be considering when purchasing one:
1) It should specialise in a particular task
In simple terms, servers are devices that store resources, deliver data, process requests, and execute programs for other computers. If your business has heavy computing requirements—say for example, it runs an online shopping site—then you’d usually need more servers to handle the workload. However, SMEs often don’t have such demanding computing needs. In the case of the latter, a microserver is the most cost-efficient solution for that type of scale.
A microserver has less processing power and storage capacity compared to a standard server, but its value should lie in its ability to execute specialised tasks. For example, an HPE ProLiant microserver can be solely used as your business’s email server, as a firewall, or for file sharing, among others. If it can be depended upon to specialise in particular tasks only, your microserver can serve your business adequately without you needing to spend a fortune on more advanced servers.
2) It Should Help You Lower Your Power Consumption
Given their smaller size and more focused functionality rather than serving as jack-of-all-trades types of devices, microservers consume less power. This can be especially helpful for SMEs looking to keep their utility costs down while still getting the benefits of a dedicated server. SME owners often struggle with high electricity prices, so having a microserver can help consolidate computing tasks at work while saving energy costs at the same time. Knowing that, you should look for a microserver that will allow your business to get the most value for money in terms of efficiency with power.
3) It should be a space saver
As the term implies, microservers are meant to be small in size. Some types can be as compact as 10 inches in height and 8 inches in width. Standard servers commonly take up a lot of space, at times even requiring an entire room just to store them in. You’ll want to find a microserver that takes up minimal space and can thus be easily stored on your business premises without you having to make special provisions.
In connection with the previous point, larger servers usually need cooling systems so they don’t overheat considering the power they consume. You won’t need to invest in such solutions if you’re only using a microserver, as it won’t put out much heat due to its small size.
4) It should be cost efficient
Servers can be expensive, mainly because they’re more powerful than your average computer and thus have higher specifications. As you can imagine, this type of device costs more to produce. But if you’re not in need of heavy-duty computing and can instead settle for a microserver, then you don’t have to worry about spending a huge amount. A microserver is an enticing investment for SMEs because it will be able to get the job done for a fraction of a cost. This will allow you to put the money you’ve saved into other expenses instead.
While it has less computing power than a standard server, a microserver should still able to carry out the tasks you need to get done, which makes it more cost-efficient for its price. Just make sure that you invest in the type that’s durable and with a powerful enough processor for your business’s specific applications.
5) It should be easy to maintain and move around
Though you may not need a specialised cooling system to keep it running, your microserver should be easy to maintain in the face of basic problems like dust and debris buildups in your office. You should also choose the type that’s compact and easy to move around in case you need to move it to a different location, perhaps as part of an office renovation project. If you’re a small business with limited hands on deck, you won’t want to expend too much time and manpower just to maintain your server.
Maximising the advantages of a microserver
SMEs constantly need to keep up with the growing demands of customers, and that often entails upgrading the technology used in their operations. A dependable microserver will be a great addition to your business as it allows for a centralised way to manage and share data among employees. Your microserver can also ensure that sensitive company data remains in safe hands, seeing that the former is restricted to a dedicated server instead of being stored in just any other device or computer.
If you’re in the market for a microserver and have a hard time choosing among the many offerings currently out there, let the features listed in this article guide you towards getting one that will bring good returns on your investment.