If you are the kind owner or manager that imagines a successful business as being one that has a rack of servers humming in some large, dark, cold server room, then you probably need to make a paradigm shift in your perception of modern-day commerce.
Today, businesses are slimming down: they are cutting out all processes that are not directly essential to the main business process. That includes the maintaining of servers and the running of an in-house IT department, both of which can be outsourced to a third-party business entity whose sole purpose is to own servers and rent them out to you (along with all essential supporting services, of course).
Hence, the answer to the question “Can you run your business without investing in a server?” is a resounding “Yes!”
Here are some pointers and replacements that you can implement in your business:
- Cloud Data Storage: you really do not need to own a server just for the sake of storing data on it anymore. Technology has advanced so much – and with it the speed of the internet – that accessing data from a cloud server that is hosted by a company across a continent could actually be faster than doing the same with a server in your own LAN/WAN network.
With a little research and some speed testing, you can find a hosting provider that will ensure you have the best of access times at all times. When the speeds falter, you can ask them to fix things without even having to be bothered about the technicalities.
- Secure Data Storage: of course, having to think that someone else will have access to all your data and thus be able to nose around in it could make you a little nervous. But then again, you don’t have to make it so easy for them. With today’s encryption/decryption capabilities, you can seamlessly access and store your data without anyone else being able to decipher it. Even if they were to get their hands on it, no one would be able to make use of it as [without the security or encryption keys] it would only be data streams of garbage.
Besides, let us be honest – if you are an average business owner, you will most certainly be a whiz at making money, marketing your products, increasing sales, cutting loses, etc. but would definitely scratch your head when it came to securing servers and networks. That is the biggest target you could paint on your business as hackers look for businesses that think they have locked down their servers without having a clue about security.
A hosting provider, on the other hand, wouldn’t last one day in the market if they didn’t know better.
- Backup is an Art: apart from storing data on your servers, you will need to know how to back it up. You can do this by either replicating the server(s), then making sure one takes over when the other fails, or by taking physical/digital backups of your data and storing it somewhere secure. Both these methods are expensive and are time-consuming tasks. Not only will you have to now worry about servers and backup servers, you will also have to care for the place where the precious backed-up data is going to be stored.
Then of course you will need to test your backups every once in a while to see if the data you have stored in them can actually be restored back. Back up is an art that not everyone can master – you would be better off leaving it to those who already have.
- Accessibility is a Real Pain: being a business owner or manager, you will probably know that the working day doesn’t end when you punch out at 5 o’clock. You will need to be in touch with staff members all day long, you will need to monitor sales around the clock, you will need to contact and collaborate with other partners outside the country… can you start to see the scale of constant connectivity you will need?
You will need to be able to work from anywhere in the world just like you would sitting in the office. Maintaining that kind network connectivity is a complicated task; at least it is if you want to have it done in a secure way. Just picking any tool on the market and implementing it in your office could leave more gaping holes in your network and devices’ security than you will ever know.
Again, companies offering data sharing on a global scale, collaboration software platforms that not only allow collaboration on documents and spreadsheets but in more sophisticated business packages and even then can thrown in conference audio/video calling so you can be certain your point has gotten through. So, why would you want to do without all these luxuries?
On a parting note, let us just remind you that as technology advances, gadgets (including servers) become smaller, much more powerful and less intrusive in the physical world. Don’t assume that because you don’t have it near you, your server doesn’t exist. It does, it’s just transcended into the next form – the cloud.
