I have just joined a very small non-profit consulting group in Rome, and have been asked to create some network infrastructure for them.
There are currently 4 consultants and 2 operational/admin staff, all on laptops running WinXP Pro, on a relatively unsecure wireless network.
The consultant spend 65% of their time out of the office, and everyone corresponds via externally hosted mail. They use Groove for workflow, but they have problems there as well.
Organizational growth will be limited. At most, we get to 10 people in 1 year. The biggest need right now is a proper file server, Exchange would be great too, but I am very wary of the complexities and cost that come from going to a full Win2003 Server setup. The cost for hardware is manageable – it is the ongoing support that is the challenge, particularly for an english-speaking firm in Italy. I don’t know enough to support the network myself (just enough to be dangerous).
Plus, we are in the non-profit sphere, so funds are tight, and revenue unreliable.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.