How to update an old production server

[nerd2u]

Just wait until they have a server crash it will help it sell itself it also has the added bonus of allowing you to say I told you so.

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[uktech]

Wow, this place/people are amazing - that's all really useful information. Unfortunately for me, I come from a corporate enterprise environment where you just pull server hardware off the shelf, re-image it and away you go.

Datto solutions sound fantastic, but I'm probably a crap salesman - because getting customers to even buy my el-cheapo turnkey backup (£120) is hard. I have 2 customers right now, who have lost data, had to pay me for recovery (expensive), and still they haven't bought a backup - from anyone!

The Alto device looks promising for small business - I'll just have to try harder to get them to swallow the cost - which is harder to ascertain than it should be: why do I have to jump through hoops just to get the cost of the service?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Awesome thank you for explaining that. Datto services certainly seem worth it for any business that relies on the availability of their server, but trying to get the client to see that and spend the money is probably another thing for a lot of them lol. But like you said if you get a good sales pitch down about why they need it, it probably sells itself.

Being "realistic" about "how long it takes to get your network back up and running" when it comes to a restoring/rebuilding/replacing a server is key. Doesn't have to be something as drastic as a server catching fire...but you know sometimes an old server, out of warranty, major component failure, or power surge has you questioning how many parts got roached. Can be days until they're back up and running again.
Or a client with several servers, having a Datto can ease MSP costs and project labor, allowing you to perform easier server migrations. We've used a Datto soooo many times to do P2V migrations.

One time a client of mine got ransomwared. I was on vacation....when I got the call, family out on a boat in lake Winnie in New Hampshire. Thanks to the clients Datto Siris S3000, had them back up within an hour, my laptop tethered to my phone from out in the middle of a huge lake.

I can't tell you how many times I've quickly done file/folder restores within minutes from a Datto while traveling, just stop for a few minutes, tether to phone, drill in, restore. The ease for the MSP is huge!

 

[uktech]

You should be a Datto Salesman!

The more I read about it the more impressed I am - but I will need to get a better customer base to stump > £200 per month for a Datto.

The other part of the equation is that many folk here don't want anything on a subscription - they much prefer to just pay outright for something....

I am also surprised by how few software houses make a hybrid backup solution for residential customers: many do cloud based backup or local disk, but few do a really well designed/implemented backup to both.

I would have thought it would be a no-brainer?

 

[lan101]

Being "realistic" about "how long it takes to get your network back up and running" when it comes to a restoring/rebuilding/replacing a server is key. Doesn't have to be something as drastic as a server catching fire...but you know sometimes an old server, out of warranty, major component failure, or power surge has you questioning how many parts got roached. Can be days until they're back up and running again.
Or a client with several servers, having a Datto can ease MSP costs and project labor, allowing you to perform easier server migrations. We've used a Datto soooo many times to do P2V migrations.

One time a client of mine got ransomwared. I was on vacation....when I got the call, family out on a boat in lake Winnie in New Hampshire. Thanks to the clients Datto Siris S3000, had them back up within an hour, my laptop tethered to my phone from out in the middle of a huge lake.

I can't tell you how many times I've quickly done file/folder restores within minutes from a Datto while traveling, just stop for a few minutes, tether to phone, drill in, restore. The ease for the MSP is huge!

That's pretty awesome!! Being able to fix a client's issue while out on the lake makes it worth the cost alone. It has saved probably countless hours of time and many many headaches I'm sure.