A
adevito
I am helping a friend who has a small construction firm address some IT
needs. Specifically, he has an office of about 6 people. He travels a
lot and wants to allow his office manager and one other person the
ability to access his email and calendar including setting new
appointments. He also wants to allow others in the office to see his
calendar but not be able to edit it and also not have access to his
email. The firm currently gets email via a third party provider
(simple cable Internet access that includes email accounts).
One option I've explored is using MSFT's Small Business server (SBS) to
pull in the current pop3 email they have and setup a shared calendar
with the appropriate permissions by person. All desktops are
configured with Windows XP and MS Outlook (either 2002 or 2003). While
he does have a server in the office that handles construction
accounting software as well as regular file and print, from what I've
read on Exchange it is probably best to be on its own server. The
office doesn't currently have AD but that would be setup if Exchange is
used.
I've read some of limited materials on MOOL and it also sounds like it
may meet their needs. They can continue to use their Pop3 accounts
while also getting new hotmail accounts they could transition to if
they wish. It appears that MOOL can store email from multiple
services. I've checked the slipstick site and one of the use cases
suggests that in one configuration a person can access the calendar and
add entrees and in another configuration access is read only. Thus,
from the limited info available, it appears this may work as well.
The office doesn't really have an IT staff but what I've setup for them
in the past (server,a few printers, accounting software and tape
backup) has worked fine for a number of years now. Exchange is a bit
more complicated, though their usage will be relatively uncomplicated.
I guess another option might be to hook them up with a hosting service
for Exchange. I've checked some postings for different providers from
a few different users but all appeared somewhat mixed.
I'd appreciate any views the community has on an approach.
needs. Specifically, he has an office of about 6 people. He travels a
lot and wants to allow his office manager and one other person the
ability to access his email and calendar including setting new
appointments. He also wants to allow others in the office to see his
calendar but not be able to edit it and also not have access to his
email. The firm currently gets email via a third party provider
(simple cable Internet access that includes email accounts).
One option I've explored is using MSFT's Small Business server (SBS) to
pull in the current pop3 email they have and setup a shared calendar
with the appropriate permissions by person. All desktops are
configured with Windows XP and MS Outlook (either 2002 or 2003). While
he does have a server in the office that handles construction
accounting software as well as regular file and print, from what I've
read on Exchange it is probably best to be on its own server. The
office doesn't currently have AD but that would be setup if Exchange is
used.
I've read some of limited materials on MOOL and it also sounds like it
may meet their needs. They can continue to use their Pop3 accounts
while also getting new hotmail accounts they could transition to if
they wish. It appears that MOOL can store email from multiple
services. I've checked the slipstick site and one of the use cases
suggests that in one configuration a person can access the calendar and
add entrees and in another configuration access is read only. Thus,
from the limited info available, it appears this may work as well.
The office doesn't really have an IT staff but what I've setup for them
in the past (server,a few printers, accounting software and tape
backup) has worked fine for a number of years now. Exchange is a bit
more complicated, though their usage will be relatively uncomplicated.
I guess another option might be to hook them up with a hosting service
for Exchange. I've checked some postings for different providers from
a few different users but all appeared somewhat mixed.
I'd appreciate any views the community has on an approach.