Which alternatives are there to the Windows Small Business Server?

In 2019 the popular server suite reaches its end of life. Here you will find out which solutions you can now offer your customers as a successive product.

The Microsoft Windows Small Business Server (SBS) was a low cost server operating system, which was developed specifically for the requirements of small and medium sized businesses. The components were simple to use and administer. Nonetheless, SBS provided important features for all companies, such as data back-up and recovery, receiving emails, email delivery, remote access as well as company internal websites for collaboration by the joint use of documents and printers. The Standard Edition was designed for small companies with a maximum of 75 users and served as a complete solution for the service infrastructure.

The Windows Small Business Server was offered as a turnkey solution, which means companies also had to pay for features and capacities, which were not used. This has changed radically in today’s world of the cloud and ‘as-a-Service’ models. Instead of expensive one-off investments, you can lease required features tailored per user and month.

We have compared the components of the Microsoft Windows Small Business Server with a modern, future-oriented cloud solution. You receive all components from one source using oneclick™ as the orchestration platform. You save time and resources through a high degree of automation. The oneclick™ platform can be operated without any specialist knowledge. Our user support assists you with initial set-up and migration.

Comparison:

Windows SBS

Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard

Windows SBS 2011 Standard builds on Windows Server® 2008 R2 Standard, one of the most stable Windows server operating systems. Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard increases reliability and flexibility of the server infrastructure. The operating system was also designed to reduce costs with regards to server management and to save time. Increased security features have protected data and the internal network.

Modern Cloud Solution

oneclick™ Cloud Resource Manager

The oneclick™ platform allows companies to move their local client desktop infrastructure to the cloud – easily, quickly and securely. Every member of staff receives their own Cloud VM, which is provided via oneclick™ in Microsoft Azure. In addition, oneclick™ offers an automated provisioning of resources and streams the entire desktop or individual programmes in a 100% web-based workspace in the browser. Afterwards staff are able to log onto oneclick™ with any device and have mobile access to their digital workspace or individual cloud applications.
Instead of individual virtual machines for individual users, it is also possible to alternatively implement a Windows Server 2016 as a shared RDS system plus domain controller. This is worthwhile for companies with more than 30 users.

Exchange Server 2010 Standard with SP1

Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010 Standard and Service Pack 1 (SP1) achieved a high level of reliability during email traffic and performance during the provision of features, it simplified management, protected communication and supported greater user mobility.

Exchange Online

The switch to Office 365 Business Essential or Premium is recommended. In addition to services Exchange, Sharepoint, OneDrive, Skype for Business, Teams and Yammer, Premium also includes licenses for Office applications.

Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010

SharePoint® Foundation 2010 offered a web-based collaboration platform, which was easy to manage, including higher security than previous versions of Windows SharePoint services. With SharePoint Foundation 2010 users were able to access and release documents and information quickly.

Office 365

A switch to Office 365 Business Essential or Premium is recommended. In addition to services Exchange, Sharepoint, OneDrive, Skype for Business, Teams and Yammer, Premium also includes licenses for Office applications.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express

SQL Server® 2008 R2 Express was a high performance and reliable data management system, which offered numerous features, data protection and services for embedded applications, light weight websites and applications as well as local data storage. In Windows SBS 2011 Standard SQL Server 2008 R2 Express acted as data management system for internal company websites as well as for all websites, which were created with SharePoint Foundation 2010.

Microsoft SQL Server Express (2014, 2012 und 2008R2) including tools

This service is available in Azure with a free licence. Costs only incur for virtual machines in Azure.

The oneclick™ platform also offers a range of administration tools, which replace popular features of the Windows Small Business Server. Using the oneclick™ drive, files and data can be assigned a rights structure and shared with internal and external users. You can integrate any enterprise storage from various server locations in an instant. It is best to use Acronis Cloud Backup to back-up and recover files.

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