Solutions to the Seven Problems For Small Business

My article: "To Serve Small Business" (published on LinuxPlanet.com 12/1/2005,) was a provocative analysis of the state of affairs in the IT service business. Our company has served this market for over 15 years. We've witnessed a steady erosion of faith in IT solutions by our customers. One customer told me that he wasn't so sure that, rather than being a part of the solution, computers weren't a part of the problem. Worry about the reliability of systems has risen almost as fast as the cost to keep them running. My customers are becoming fatigued with constant updates, patches, glitches and fixes. New threats seem to arrive as quickly as the flood of SPAM.

Six years ago, we began developing a server appliance for the customers we served using Open Source Software. Today, FileEngine® is being used at 50 of our customers: law firms, schools, non-profits, and other organizations. We believe we've created a solution and a business model that can change the status quo.

We're actively seeking IT service organizations to partner with us and become FileEngine resellers. If you serve small business and are looking for a solution you can confidently deliver to your customers I hope you will give us an opportunity to show you what FileEngine can do.

The Solution

1. FileEngine delivers a fundamentally different value proposition from traditional servers - even other servers running Linux. Foremost among the differences is shifting the risk of owning a server away from the customer and reseller back to the manufacturer. This shift is financed by the cost advantage Open Source Software delivers. The basic functions performed by a typical SMB server have been commoditized and made available for free from well developed and supported OSS projects. When the functionality of the server is reduced to meet the needs of those small businesses, the support risk is reduced too. The combination of OSS, a narrowly focused solution and a competitive environment that supports a relatively high price means that FileEngine can be delivered with margins that are quite high without a negative effect on overall sales potential.
2. Customers crave predictability. FileEngine's predictable monthly payment includes installation, integration, monitoring and maintenance. No longer will unbudgeted service calls increase their cost. A portion of the expense of FileEngine is consciously or subconsciously allocated to insurance. This allocation sets FileEngine apart from competitive products.
3. Resellers benefit from FileEngine in different ways. The system is quick and painless to install. Avoiding the complexity of Windows servers gives resellers the flexibility to chose a non-certified staff member to perform the installation. (This may offer the reseller the ability to expand the size of his market without increasing his overhead.) A simpler install reduces their risk of getting it wrong. (The pre-configuration of FileEngine is accomplished entirely on-line during the ordering process with a simple to use web application we call Iron-Man.) Win32 based integration tools allow local administration of Users, Groups (via LDAP) and File Storage Areas and automation of domain joins and profile migrations. Even the creation of logon scripts is automated.
4. FileEngine provides four levels of data protection. A pair of mirrored hard drives provide redundancy and protect against hard drive failures. The integrated dual layer DVD drive can record up to 8GB of data. (100 DVD+RW media are delivered with every FileEngine.) A separate partition stores up to two weeks of 'snapshots' of the File Storage Areas in what we call Self-Serve Restore. This partition is mounted read-only and accessible by the on-staff 'key-operator'. Putting a local user in charge of recovering from 'oops' moments reduces the customer's reliance on the reseller for most data recovery chores. Finally, FileEngine integrates easily with an off-site data storage service for disaster recovery or simply web-based data accessibility.
5. FileEngine truly is an SMB file server appliance; it is delivered without monitor, keyboard or mouse. Neither customers nor resellers are required (or allowed) to administer any features of the system other than Users, Groups and File Storage Areas. We have developed a unique 'call-back' reverse SSH tunneling administration utility that allows our support engineers to manage the server if required. An integrated control panel provides access to basic services including the ability to create a backup or 'Take-Out' disk, restore a backup, test the network and shut down FileEngine.
6. FileEngine includes WatchBot®, a service that monitors various aspects of the server's performance and reports to a network operations center nightly. If something goes wrong with a customer's FileEngine our goal is to be aware of it before the customer is. Having detailed information available means we can work with the customer and reseller to resolve problems quickly. (We pay resellers to work on FileEngines - customers don't need to worry about that either.) And considering how simply FileEngines can be deployed, replacement is a reasonable alternative to repair of a broken FileEngine.)
7. Most customers will lease a FileEngine rather than buy it. We've made that easy. Our partnership with Dolphin Capital makes installing a FileEngine a $235/mo. decision. That price includes shipping, installation, integration with up to 10 PCs, maintenance, monitoring, 100 DVD+RWs and UPS. Resellers take home $1100 from what should be a morning's work. The reseller is free to charge more for added services - several upsell options may be specified during FileEngine configuration; some provide recurring revenue. These include desktop imaging, off-site backup and a Groupware solution compatible with Microsoft Outlook.

   For more information, contact: Scott McIlwaine, National Reseller Development Director, scottmc@fileengine.com, 520-225-0669, or call: 888-LINUX-RX