4 Do – Use integrated products with simplified operations and management.

SMBs are taking advantage of the same new technologies as large enterprises. Unfortunately,

all too often, IT administrators end up with separate management tools for each new technology.

For example, in a recent study, 50% of IT managers at SMBs reported using three or more solutions

to back up data on physical, virtual and cloud-based servers.4 But short-staffed IT departments

simply cannot afford to learn and manage multiple solutions for closely related problems.

Managers should seek out product sets where a single console can be used to manage different

types of tools (like security and backup) and different environments (like physical servers, virtual

machines and cloud environments).

There are also differences between solutions designed for SMBs and those aimed at enterprises.

Products designed for SMBs provide more intuitive interfaces, simplified setup and deployment,

preconfigured policies and highly automated updates. Many offer cloud-based options that minimize

setup and administration and allow for “frictionless” scaling. These features make SMB solutions very economical

and an ideal fit for IT managers who fill multiple roles rather than manage a single product.