Fairwell to Small Business Server 2003
It's the end of an era: I downed the last Microsoft SBS 2003 today in favor of Google Apps. What was once a flagship Microsoft staple has been consumed by the crocodile of time.
Today I spent the day de-comissioning a Microsoft Windows 2003 Small Business Server (SBS). It was the last SBS server any of my clients had still in production and the last SBS server license anywhere on my active client list. I turned it off today and probably for the last time.
Okay, what's the big deal? It's the end of an era for me. Awww sniff sniff
I've been working on SBS licenses for over a decade. It was the entry-level machine that so, so many companies replaced their old Windows Server 2000 or even WindowsNT 4.0 servers with.
SBS provided a small business with affordable security management, file sharing, shared mail/contacts/calendars, a database service, and reasonable backup solutions. It was almost everything any business needed out of the box. It was an awesome revenue source for Microsoft as small businesses everywhere needed that affordable capability. SBS installations were everywhere.
Sadly, the Windows Server 2012 platform doesn't include an SBS licensing model and small businesses are expected to pay a premium for similar functionality with full licenses for domain management, Exchange Server, and SQL Server. That's totally cost-prohibitive to the small business, of course, to own a full-scale Standard server and all of those classic services so there's no real equivalent today. Microsoft would encourage people to purchase a workgroup server called Foundation Server, or, sign up for MsOffice365 and an "Essentials" server ... and what a broken load of crap that is. It's like Microsoft gave a big index finger to small businesses everywhere.
Well, so long, SBS 2003. You've been replaced by faster, less-risk, web-based, centrally-managed cloud products, and not even with a Microsoft logo but a Google Apps logo. Microsoft has abandoned you, and well, we - in the small business support world - have abandoned Microsoft.
Kinda represents the things to come, I think.
Soon, I'll likely replace the office productivity applications and Windows operating systems on the client computers with something other than Microsoft products, too.
Hey, Microsoft: I can see a time without you. Do you hear that? The sound of a tick-tock-tick?
R
Start Worrying About EMV Transition in October 2015
Starting in October 2015, EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) liability for credit card data breeches will shift from the processor to the retailer.
Technically, the language reads that the "most insecure" in the processing chain is responsible for breech, which extends financial liability back to the business accepting the credit card.
If you're a small business in the Vancouver, Washington or Portland, Oregon area that accepts credit cards, this transition affects you. There are three components of this transition that you must be aware of:
1. Your POS Readiness. The software and hardware that runs your point of sale system must be upgraded to support upcoming changes, including accepting new chipped cards. You should understand your vendor's upgrade schedule and look for gaps in that upgrade process.
2. Your PCI-DSS Compliance Status. The Payment Card Industry have implemented technical and administrative standards that help reduce risk of data breech. Not understanding your PCI-DSS status is a demonstration of managerial negligence that can expose your company.
3. Training. The way you accept credit cards is going to change. With the new chipped cards, you dock the card instead of swipe it; phones will become methods of payment; banks are in the process of replacing cards and activating phone payment solutions; very soon, consumers are going to be showing up at your door expecting to use these new systems. You and your team should be ready.
Mickler & Associates, Inc. can help you with all three components of this problem. Please contact us for a no-cost discussion to see how we can help out.
R
How Does Your Technology Shape Experiences?
How is your technology creating positive customer experiences? Facilitating ease-of-use, quick responses, fast payment options, immediate self-service? Or, is your business process creating negative experiences that harm your brand? Let's take a critical look at what you're doing.
How does your customer experience your business? How does tech help facilitate or exacerbate that experience?
Is your website mobile aware? That is to say easy to view on mobile devices, click-to-call options, immediate capability to chat or leave a message, or, self-service an appointment?
On the other hand, is it not? Where mobile users have to resize the screen, cut-n-paste a phone number, or email you to contact you?
When people visit your service counter, how quickly does it take them to check out? Do they have to perform an endless array of clicks and checks and confirmations? Or is it slick, fast, painless? Is there a counter at all?
What kind of experience do you give when invoicing your customer? Are they presented with a variety of online and offline payment options? Do you make it easy for them to review their invoices, dispute them, review their statements, pay you? Or are you still expecting a check to be dropped in the mail? Or cash to be exchanged? Or physical check to be written?
When doing business with you, are you taking their order by pen and paper, or, electronically? Or, do you have to wait, crack open a laptop, login, perform a bunch of rituals to open a document, edit it, and finally get down to business? How is the process of conducting your business elevated by technology, or, distracted by it?
How does your use (or ignorance) of technology shape consumer expectation? Do they expect you to be slow, make mistakes, deal only in paper receipts? Or can they expect you to be faster, respect their time, pass receipts electronically? How are you changing your business processes to meet changing consumer expectations?
What kind of consumer experiences are you creating anyway? How does that impact your brand? What people are saying about you?
R