Networking On A Budget

Netstream is much more affordable than a traditional solution. ”The cost of buying a server and paying for its upkeep prevents many companies from installing systems that let their computers talk to one another. Companies can spend thousands of dollars on servers, software and new computers, plus the cost of managing the technology. Or they can pay a little more than $200 a month for Netstream and not worry about things like viruses or running out of space”, Nick Mathes of Netstream said.

LaFrances Wilder, who owns Wilder Mechanical Corp. with her husband, David, said she subscribed to Netstream after receiving a flier in the mail. She had been looking for a way to add networking capabilities to her company, which installs heating, air conditioning and plumbing in residential and commercial buildings. But the price of a server and all the equipment and service necessary would have run about $30,000, LaFrances Wilder said. The 25-employee Newport News company competes with large companies for contracts, and those companies have an edge partly because they can work faster and more efficiently in their offices on their networked computers, LaFrances Wilder figured. Her staff was forced to print copies of contracts and carry them from one work station to the next.“We don’t have the revenue to put into certain things,” she said. “We wanted to play in the bigger market. Now just within the office, amongst the employees, everything is done at a lot quicker pace.”

BY NOVELDA SOMMERS
Excerpt from an article from the Daily Press