Prioritized List of Needs


All businesses have needs, but small businesses have some critical needs that if addressed can easily make a big difference to their bottom line. When selling to a small business focus on specific needs to ensure that the business owner or decision maker is satisfied on key points. Focus also helps teams and consultants stay on task and keep billable time to a minimum. The following are key points to consider when thinking about the prioritized list of needs for a small business:

  • Access to data anywhere, anytime

  • Easy systems for communicating with customers and prospects

  • Storage, management, and backup of communication with customers and prospects

  • Reliable automatic backups to reduce risk and downtime

  • Redundancy of data from laptop machines to a central repository to reduce the risk when equipment is lost

  • Collaborative tools for small teams, partner firms, and relations

  • Low-cost alternatives to enterprise-level options and features

  • Organized electronic document management

  • PDA mobility integration

  • The ability to store retrievable tidbits needed in the daily running of the business

  • Templates for best practice methodology documentation, marketing material, and contracts

How SBS Meets These Needs

SBS meets the list of prioritized needs specifically with key core features including remote access, mail hosting, and Companyweb, which is an intranet. Table 2.1 illustrates how SBS meets needs.

Table 2.1. Small Business Needs Met by SBS

Small Business Need

SBS Feature

Access to data anywhere, anytime

SBS includes Remote Web Workplace (RWW) and Outlook Web Access (OWA) both of which meet this need.

Easy systems for communicating with customers and prospects

SBS contains Exchange and Outlook email, SharePoint intranet, and Electronic Fax Services.

The ability to store retrievable tidbits needed in the daily running of the business

SBS contains the MSDE database, SharePoint, and Outlook.

Storage, management, and backup of communication with customers and prospects

SBS includes advanced mail servicing using MS Exchange as a solution that ensures that large quantities of mail are efficiently managed and backed up.

PDA mobility integration

SBS integrates and synchronizes to numerous personal data assistants (PDAs) offering mail history and Internet access to the server through RWW.

Reliable automatic backups to reduce risk and downtime Redundancy of data from laptop machines to a central repository to reduce the risk when equipment is lost

SBS has built-in backup routines. SBS offers a full server environment where the central server manages the networked machines.

Collaborative tools for small teams

SBS contains SharePoint and Companyweb for collaboration and supports more MS applications such as Live Meeting.

Collaborative tools for partner firms and relations

An SBS intranet can be set up for sharing data with partners and relations.

Templates for best practice methodology documentation, marketing material, and contracts Low-cost alternatives to enterprise-level options and features

The SBS methodology includes easy walk-through documentation and templates. Priced significantly below what purchasing all the components separately would cost, the SBS bundle is positioned for the small business.

Organized electronic document management

SBS includes document management through the SharePoint intranet features.





Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Unleashed
Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 Unleashed
ISBN: 0672328054
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 253

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