It’s common for small business employees to wear a number of hats in the course of the average day, from tech support to customer service to office manager, and even finding time for the job they were hired to do. That’s because small businesses need to make the most of the resources they have.

Whether it’s dealing with customers, technical issues, or other employees, it’s important for everyone involved in a small business to know where they can find the resources they need to get the job done. Investing time and energy into any task that takes away from focusing on the core business simply cannot be tolerated in a successful small business. Every month small businesses devote countless hours to tasks that drain their precious resources. Time can’t be wasted searching for the right file or form or updating PC software, for example.

Investing in a server and creating a server-based network for the small business creates a number of efficiencies. A server changes the way that small businesses handle information by making small businesses more efficient in the way they communicate with partners and employees, collaborate on projects, and secure the information that is vital to the business.

Here are five ways that buying that first server for the small business will increase efficiency and allow employees to concentrate on the core business.

1. Easier Access to Information

Once a small business grows beyond more than one person or PC, the files and data that the business depends on can become more difficult to track. Peer-to-peer networks, which are popular among small businesses without a server, only work when all of the PCs are available and connected to the network. USB drives and Webbased e-mail are popular ways to transport and store data, but they present security risks and aren’t an efficient way to find and share files.

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