IT zone
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Technology essentials for home businesses
Running a business from home is more popular than ever before but without the right technology entrepreneurs could have all sort of problems. In this essential guide, Simon Hurst outlines the key IT kit all home-business owners should have to hand.Essential
That's all folks
Not long ago the basis of deciding on what technology a home-based small business would need was pretty straightforward. Some sort of computer running Windows – or maybe a small Windows based network – would be at the heart of the system. Although the 'traditional' approach of a Windows-based network will still suit most small business there are two increasingly strong alternative contenders for consideration:
- Open Source solutions such as Linux and OpenOffice can cope well with operating systems and general office software and have the not inconsiderable benefit to a new start-up of being free or close to free. You will need to ensure any existing or specialist applications will run on this platform and also to consider the issue of compatibility with clients, suppliers and colleagues.
- Perhaps even more radical would be to opt for a web-based 'On-demand' solution where all the software is hosted on the internet and the business just needs an internet connection, and computers capable of running an internet browser.
Although home-based businesses come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, the vast majority are going to need a reliable internet connection – particularly if they opt for an on-demand software solution.
And that's about it really – some sort of computer and a web connection, everything else is just an optional extra.
Computer
It's difficult to generalise about what sort of computer a home business will need; some businesses will need to run specialist applications that will dictate the hardware specification while businesses that just need basic accounting and office software could probably make do with about the lowest specification computer that is generally available. The following are likely to be minimum requirements:
- 1 GB Ram
- 80GB Hard disk
- 17" flat panel monitor (smaller for a notebook)
- DVD drive with read/write capability
Built in networking (wired for a desktop and wired and wireless for a notebook) are pretty much standard now. For example Dell are currently selling a desktop for £329 including VAT and delivery that includes 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, a 17" widescreen flat panel monitor and a read/write DVD drive. If you need portability then a notebook computer won't cost a great deal more. The same Dell advert shows a £359 notebook that has 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard disk. The magazine PCPro has an 'A List' of recommended products. Their current leader in the business PC category is a Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo for £444 including VAT.
The support arrangements will be at least as important as the computer specification – what you need will depend on your own expertise and capabilities and how quickly you would need any problems resolved. If you don't want to invest in guaranteed response time support, then many people now have older computers lying around that could be used as a backup while the main computer is being attended to, but don't underestimate the effort that would be required either to ensure that the back up computer is kept up to date with applications and data, or to install all that is required from scratch if you need to. The more you rely on web-based services and applications the less of an issue this is.
Internet connection
Once again specialist requirements might mean you have to look at a particularly fast internet connection, or an 'unlimited' (which, due to 'acceptable use policies' is rarely really unlimited) download allowance.
In general a fairly basic package should be adequate for most business uses. Monthly prices for up to 8Mb download speeds start at about £10 including VAT. If you are a Sky TV subscriber then their basic 2Mb service is free, this might be adequate for some businesses as a main connection, but is certainly worth considering as a back up on a second phone line if you have one. Knowing where your nearest internet enabled café is may also help!
Few broadband services come without a range of extras these days, and it's worth considering the offers for support, web space, email addresses, internet phones and online backup storage that many suppliers include.
Services and offers are changing all the time, and will depend on where you live. There are many comparison sites. Broadband.co.uk has a useful section on business broadband.
Useful
Although you could make do with a £350 computer and £10 a month internet connection, most businesses will need quite a bit more.
Printing
Increasingly businesses exchange and store information electronically rather than on paper, and for a home-based business the need to maximise efficiency and use of space makes being as paperless as possible a good idea. However, few businesses will be able to get away without ever printing anything out, or having to scan or otherwise copy documents.
Printer choice will depend on required output quality (particularly whether you need colour as well as black and white) and output speed. For low volume black and white printing 'personal' monochrome lasers start at less than £100 plus VAT, and a colour inkjet capable of photo quality output less than half that. But do consider cost per page as this is likely to be much more significant over the life of the printer than the original capital cost, and although inkjets are very capable for photo printing, often their text printing is nowhere near the quality of a laser.
If space is a big issue then an 'All in one' or 'multifunction' device could be the answer, combining printing, scanning, copying and sometimes faxing. The inkjet based Canon Pixma MP610 is the current PCPro A list favourite and costs about £100 including VAT.
Some other IT equipment that you might need:
- An additional monitor (and maybe another graphics card or adapter to run it) – using two monitors can be a major efficiency boost
- A backup device – instead of, or in addition to online backup. Depending on what needs to be backed up, an integral writeable DVD drive might do the trick, but do remember that you need to be able to use the backup media, or connect the backup device to a computer apart from the one that your protecting.
- If uninterrupted operation is crucial then you might need to consider an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Of course, notebook computers effectively have their own UPS built in.
Also, don't underestimate the importance of user comfort – a good desk, comfortable chair and excellent keyboard and mouse will more than pay for themselves in increased productivity.
Luxury
If there's a bit of budget left at the end of the essentials then there are dozens of life-enhancing extras to consider, for example:
- TV card or USB TV tuner – keep an eye on the cricket while you work
- Novotable – gaming and wireless multimedia centre
- Save time, money and the planet with a oneclick intellipanel
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Number of comments: 3
BusinessZONE 25-Jun-2008
Categories: Technology
Times read: 5204
This article is misleadingly one-dimensional, overlooking a number of business critical issues which owner-operators need to consider before making such important technology choices. This is especially the case if this is the startup phase of the business because it's difficult costly and very time-consuming to go back and fix mistakes later; doing so can rip the business apart.
Amongst those issues are these two ...
First and perhaps most important; what is the outcome of the owner-operator's business risk analysis and - arising from that - what will their business continuity and disaster recovery capability need to be?
If - for example - they're working in any of the regulated professions or industries then making use of an online office services provider might [possibly] be a breach of any applicable regulations or controls. The owner-operator needs to know for sure; that's what a full risk assessment should tell them.
If it's OK to use an online office service then does their choice of provider deliver the required annual certificates of their own continuity and recovery capability to meet BS 25999 that will be acceptable to the owner-operators' business risk and professional indemnity insurers?
The owner-operator needs to be certain that the business can survive disasters and recover its data in sufficient time that adverse impact is minimised, and do so in a manner that meets regulatory or professional requirements.
In some cases that can mean special or additional technology precautions, particularly if the physical location itself is at risk, for example located in one of those areas of the UK which now more frequently suffers from floods.
Second, and increasingly important: how energy efficient is any technology the business plans to use. Not all technology is equal; a good energy efficient PC and TFT monitor can be as much as 80% less costly to run compared to "standard" items.
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In short, the technology needs to suit the requirements, and those requirements cannot be judged as simply or narrowly as this article implies.
In making the choice of a particular printing solution, small businesses should take into consideration a broad range of printer specifications:
Value for money - Users should look at value for money not just in terms of the initial purchase price but rather from the perspective of total cost of ownership (TCO). TCO is normally determined by running costs (measured as cost per copy).
Once a small business has determined its typical print output, it should be possible to identify a printer capable of meeting these requirements. In some instances, relatively large differences in purchase price can be recuperated through lower running costs.
Separate image drums and toners offer a major running cost advantage when printing high density pages, especially in colour. When working out cost-per-copy, users should review the consumable required for each product. Looking for differences could reveal hidden costs.
Print Quality - This is often perceived to be the same as resolution- a measurement of the number of dots used by a printer to output a page of print (measured in “dots per inch” - dpi). However, while resolution is important to overall quality, it is not the only factor to consider. The size, shape and control of the positioning of these dots are equally - if not more - significant than the number of dots used. Printers utilising LED technology have very precise dot control – a key advantage in printing graphics and high quality images.
Paper Handling - Paper Sizes and Weights - Most users print on A4 and most small businesses use 80 to 100gsm paper for letterheads and other routine printing. However, flexible paper handling will allow users to be creative in what they ouput. In this respect, printers with a flat paper path capability offer advanced paper handling, allowing users to print everything from business cards to banners up to 1.2 metres long with some models supporting A3+ printing and heavyweight media up to 300gsm.
Durability - A duty cycle figure measured in pages per month is used on any printer specification sheet to give a guide to durability. This figure indicates whether or not a printer will be capable of consistently and reliably meeting a given customer’s typical print volumes.
Integration - Key factors in integrating a printer into a working environment include product size, and connectivity, measured by the number of interfaces available and operating systems supported. As space is at a premium in most home or small offices, as mentioned in the article above, products utilising LED technology have a distinct advantage as they are compact in size yet powerful in performance.
Interfacing is important for ease of installation. Printer languages such as PCL/PostScript or Host Based GDI printer determine if a device will offer operating system flexibility or only work with MS Windows.
You seem to ignore that using a Mac to run your business and home life makes sense.
They are powerful enough to run any application, they run Microsoft office and can even run windows. They don't need extra cards or software installed to run printers or other peripherals. Most have built in cameras for video conferencing and their latest operating system has automated back up (Time machine) built in. They are also virus free....
Sounds like a real contender to me....
D
