Editor’s Note: The Integration Imperative

Mobile devices and mobile workers are the order of the day. Supporting and integrating these devices into your network is essential.

Lafe Low

The world is expanding. Even smaller businesses are now operating on a global scale, often with multiple office locations and a growing mobile workforce. Consequently, many diverse small businesses now experience the same IT demands and the same IT issues as larger enterprises.

While small businesses might not require an enterprise-class set of technologies, they still need something with the capability and flexibility to help drive their business. Based on Windows Server 2008 technology, Small Business Server (SBS) brings automated backup and recovery services, integrated enterprise-class functionality and capability, and a single, all-in-one package for small business IT.

SBS 2011 (and the forthcoming SBS 2012) integrates seamlessly with Windows Server 2008 (and Windows Server 2008 R2), as it’s based on the same technology. This facilitates secure access to files and documents from any Web browser, a simplified migration processes, and OWA and Exchange Management Console support to streamline e-mail communications with your remote and mobile users.

SBS also integrates with SharePoint, which provides remote office and mobile users with the familiarity of a Microsoft Office experience; consolidated intranet sites; secure and simplified business-specific solutions; and streamlined Remote Web Access to share documents, sync calendars and use collaboration tools. This is quite possibly the most important avenue of integration in SBS in terms of supporting and facilitating a disparate and remote workforce.

Mobile workers, multiple locations and multiple devices are a reality. Integrating these users and whichever devices and applications they choose—both internally and internationally—is the new challenge and the new IT imperative.

Come Together

What sort of integration initiatives do you have underway? Are you supporting a widely dispersed user population? How about mobile users and mobile devices? What’s your IT policy related to those types of users and devices?

How can we help you do your job more efficiently with our coverage? Let us know how we’re doing with the mix of product group coverage and tactical and strategic coverage. We’re here to help you get the most out of your Microsoft technology. Be sure to sign up for the TechNet Magazine LinkedIn group, send us an e-mail at tnmag.microsoft.com or e-mail me directly.

Lafe Low

Lafe Low is the editor in chief of TechNet Magazine. A veteran technology journalist, he’s also the former executive editor of 1105 Media’s Redmond magazine.