Client Management for an Active Small Business

HI Everyone,
I was looking to get advice on setting up our clients for our small business. We have a mixed environment but now are focused on the macs. We have mobile users and desktops and need to find some harmony...
Some issues, questions, I've run into:
- Do you setup laptops like desktops - requiring the user to log in and using homesync to backup all of their files? Do you suggest another setup with basic (time machine) backup?
- How can I allow users to install programs on their machines with access? Often times the machine admin's permission is needed to install Skype, Oovoo, or other programs our sales people use to conference call and they need me to enter them in. Is there a way to allow them to install, or have access, to do this?
Thanks,
Shai

sshefer wrote:
HI Everyone,
I was looking to get advice on setting up our clients for our small business. We have a mixed environment but now are focused on the macs. We have mobile users and desktops and need to find some harmony...
Some issues, questions, I've run into:
- Do you setup laptops like desktops - requiring the user to log in and using homesync to backup all of their files?
Sort of. The mobile devices typically get portable home directory settings. (So that they work when the server is inaccessible.)
Do you suggest another setup with basic (time machine) backup?
The clients get set up with a backup device at whatever fixed location where they're most commonly used.
- How can I allow users to install programs on their machines with access? Often times the machine admin's permission is needed to install Skype, Oovoo, or other programs our sales people use to conference call and they need me to enter them in. Is there a way to allow them to install, or have access, to do this?
Folks can typically be configured to allow them to [run stuff out of their own directories|http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/MacOSX/Concep tual/BPFileSystem/Articles/WhereToPutFiles.html%23//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40001411 -BAJHCHJI]; there can be a [~/Application directory|http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/MacOSX/Conceptu al/BPFileSystem/Articles/Domains.html] established for each user.
It's possible to set folks up as local administrators, though I tend not to.

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http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/19813.html

Tim,
Yes Novell needs more commitment and win back the hearts of old Novell
supporters
like yourself and me included.
Unfortunatly, I can't see anyone from Novell let alone a VP or his boss
although I think
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Linux
"Tim Wohlford" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected].. .
>I was once a very loyal SBS guy -- Gold partner, etc. I'd still love to be
> one, but I remain a sadly skeptical ex-partner. I still make my living w/
> Novell products, including a new job that I took when my SBS-centric
> business failed (fair disclosure, right?). I'm also a firm believer that
> Linux needs to replace Netware.
>
> Herb points out many of the fact involved here. Let me emphasize a few:
>
> 1. No ZEN in this products. ZEN alone is a reason to keep Novell. I
> think
> that ZfD adds another $50 per user. There is supposed to be something in
> this that handles dynamic local user, which is my first concern. There is
> also no BorderManager, but most of the SBS people understand that the
> world
> has moved on from that product.
>
> 2. Based on SLES 9, not OES2. Upgrade to SLES 10 is the lure to get you
> to buy support (below).
>
> 3. With the exception of Groupwise, you can download an free equivelent
> most of it , which begs the question. If you want a 5-user freebie, then
> I'd suggest going that route, or M$ SBS if we're talking about a
> non-profit (TechSoup.org).
>
> 4. As Herb stated, there is distrust on the part of SBS installers
> towards Novell. Novell is currently run by former IBM execs. IBM
> considers 1,000 seats and $100k in annual purchases to be a small account.
> I was told directly from a Novell VP (ex-IBM) that there would never be
> another SBS last December, and while this product is labeled SBS, and came
> in response to pointed criticism at Brainshare, it is simply a NOWS-based
> product that was ready to be introduced when the SBS team was dissovled
> about 18 months ago. Novell admits that the target market for this
> product is 50-200 users, which means that Novell still doesn't want the
> 5-50 user customers. Novell has not announced any partner program which
> would take care of the 1- and 2-person shops which usually provided
> support for SBS clients, which means that they don't want small parters --
> we don't "bring value" was the phrase that the VP told me. As far as I
> can tell, there is no SBS division like there was in years past.
>
> I will totally recant everything I've said here, and written on Abend.org,
> if I get a phone call from that VP (or his boss), but I've yet to see any
> tangible evidence of changes at Novell.
>
> 5. Support is a problem. $650 per incident compares with $250 for M$
> (and
> free if it's a office-down situation). Novell has very few techs left at
> Provo, with most of the support going to the call center in India. The
> maint agreement gets you chat support and access to web support (better
> than
> Support by Goggling?). My understanding is that Novell wants to sell
> annual
> support for $80 per user per year, unless you want support for Netware, in
> which case it's a lot more. You won't get SLES 10 unless you pay for
> support. In fact, I'm wondering how patches will be handled for customers
> who don't have support agreements. Most 5-50 user shops are not used to
> paying for annual support agreements for anything but their accounting
> software, or maybe a specialized app.
>
> 6. Upgrade from SBS to this version is a problem. Forget about
> same-server
> upgrades -- this is Linux, and requires a wipe of the box, so most
> existing
> installs will only upgrade when they get a new server. In addition, no
> one
> can tell me how support agreements, based on NOWS seats, works if you've
> also go Netware-based SBS licenses.
>
> 7. The competition is very good. MS calls me at least twice a month
> asking
> if I need anything. They've sent me MCSE study kids, free copies of SBS,
> test vouchers, and free tech support. MS wants the SMB-SBS clients; after
> all, M$'s enterprise efforts started out with NT 3.51 as a Windows for
> Workgroup replacement! And, the stuff is easy to install, and runs very
> well once you get it configured. It's not at all perfect -- there are
> some
> things that I REALLY hate about M$ SBS -- but it's very good.
>
> At this point, I'll note that M$ won the battle by cherishing each small
> network as they grew up. Dell pushed IBM out of the PC market with the
> same strategy - selling to small customers until the big ones notice.
> Neither M$ or Dell have forgotten that lesson, and conversely, the losers
> have yet to learn.
>
> 8. The marketing phrase, "You can save up to 80 percent on your software
> acquisition costs by selecting Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business
> Edition instead of a Windows-centric environment from Microsoft" is, well,
> a
> stretch. That price includes a purchase of M$ Office Pro instead of using
> OpenOffice, using XP instead of NLD, as well as purchsing M$ Enterprise
> support (or at least the old comparisons did). Most of the SBS-sized
> customers would never dream of having a support contract w/ M$, have no
> plans for Linux desktops, and one hardly needs to buy Novell SBS to get
> OpenOffice. The truth is that a 5-user edition of M$'s SBS is $495, and
> only $50 if you have a qualifying non-profit. Those who know me know I'm
> no
> M$ shill, but I get allergic reactions to silly comparisons.
>
> Tim Wohlford
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

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