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This week Microsoft announced worldwide availability of Office Live Workspace Beta:

Microsoft Corp. today announced the public availability of Microsoft Office Live Workspace beta (http://workspace.officelive.com), the new Web-based extension of Microsoft Office that lets people access their documents online and share their work with others. Office Live Workspace was among the first entries in the new wave of online services in Microsoft’s software plus services vision previewed last fall.

Recently Microsoft launched Windows Server 2008. Windows Server 20008 is an upgrade to the traditional business workhorse, Server 2003. The Office Live and the Server 2008 products address the office environment with different technologies. What is a small business supposed to do? When you add in the security implications from various regulations and privacy issues that exists outside of the security requirements, the analysis can be a daunting task. To make this a little easier let me take you on a tour and review the tradeoffs between remote access and security.

Remote Access Viewpoint

I use the remote access viewpoint as an extension of the access and usability viewpoints. The traditional file server is easy to use and control and it has great response time. For a one location business it is relatively easy to troubleshoot problems on. For a simple business environment a file server has an attractive cost to benefit relationship. The problems occur when a small business tries to adapt this environment to accommodate remote access. Productivity can improve if an employee can access data and applications when they are on the road, at a branch office, or at home. Although it is not readily apparent the business has undertaken a step change to a more complex environment. What is apparent is that the problems multiple quickly and it is much harder environment to troubleshoot. By definition a business environment with remote access is less secure than a business environment without remote access.

Security

If you are subject to one of the various security and privacy regulations(e.g. PCI, HIPAA, etc.) you can have some real control issues to consider when you add remote access. The recommended polices concerning network access and protection of sensitive information have existed for a long time. In the past a small business could chose ignore these policies since the risks to small businesses were small. In today’s environment the risks are large for both large and small businesses. The security and privacy regulations exist to encourage businesses to recognize and respond to the threats in a proactive manner.

Software as a Service

Over the last decade several firms have offered products that offer software as a service. This offers a business the opportunity to move some of its information technology tasks outside of its office. The most successful example is probably Saleforce.com. They offer a sophisticated customer relationship management program via the web. This can be a cost effective way to add CRM to a company. By using a web application the company can avoid buying additional servers, adding support staff, and reduces licensing issues. As the final mile of Internet access gets faster and faster and Internet coverage becomes more pervasive, software as a service becomes increasingly practical as a information technology option.

The Information Technology Portfolio for a Small Business

I believe the best way to view strategic information technology concerns for a small business is as a portfolio. Windows Server 2008, Office Live, and the other software as a service vendors are frequently complimentary features. It would be difficult to move all of the business processes for most small businesses to the Internet. Not only does the web fail to offer web alternatives to many line of business applications but there are serious security concerns. There could be a real business risk on these new Internet applications. So here are my recommendatons:

• Windows 2008 and all of its competitors continue to be the most cost effective provider in a lot of traditional areas. Windows 2008 has made some welcome improvements in the remote access area via terminal services and remote applications.
• Office Live is a very attractive competitor to Google Docs. These applications appear to be excellent choices for offsite team collaboration or with customers. There are security concerns so these applications should only be used for data that is not subject to legal regulations. Although both services provide security, Office Live, appears to have a more “private” view of the data they are hosting. Amy Babinchak has a nice Google Docs. These applications appear to be excellent choices for offsite team collaboration or with customers. There are security concerns so these applications should only be used for data that is not subject to legal regulations. Although both services provide security, Office Live, appears to have a more “private” view of the data they are hosting. Amy Babinchak has a nice chart comparing the privacy aspects with two services. I think a lot of people will be more comfortable and familiar with Office Live rather than Google Docs.
• I think there will be a lot of growth with hosted applications. Firms like Salesforce.com will continue to have a robust and growing market. For a lot of small firms with a heavy dependence on email, hosted Exchange services could be a cost effective option. This is good news for the small firms and bad news for the folks selling Microsoft’s Small Business Server.