On site, cloud or mixed
All three options are good in the right place. What decides is not the trend, but the line that comes through the wall.
On-site server. When there is a lot of data, when the line is unreliable or when daily work must not depend on the internet being up. The files sit where people work, and the speed is that of the internal network, not of the line.
Cloud. When the team is spread out, when the property is used seasonally or when nobody wants to look after a physical device. It needs a line that keeps up, and in parts of the island that cannot be taken for granted.
Mixed. The most common in practice: the data used every day on site, backup and email off site. That way people keep working when the line drops, and nothing is lost if the building burns.
Storage that does not fill up by surprise
Well-sized storage is planned for three or four years, not for installation day. We work with redundant disks – if one fails, it is replaced without stopping anything – and with monitoring that warns when space is left for only a few months, not when nothing fits any more.
Camera video needs its own calculation: continuous recording from several cameras fills storage faster than almost anyone expects, and how many days are kept is a decision with legal, not only technical, implications.
Virtualisation
Several logical servers on one physical machine. The advantage is not saving hardware: a system can be duplicated, an update tested on the copy and rolled back within minutes if something does not work. Without that, every update is a gamble.
Migrations
We almost never start from scratch. Usually there is a server that has become too small, or a vendor ending support. Before touching anything we check what is there, what can be reused and what should be replaced – with concrete reasons, not as a rule.
The migration is planned to keep the interruption as short as possible, usually outside working hours, and always with a way back if something does not fit. The old system is never switched off until the new one works.
How we work
1. Visit and measurement. What is installed, which line comes in, how many people work with it, how much data moves each day.
2. Proposal with figures. A material list, a plan of how it will look and a price. And what stages two and three would add.
3. Installation and migration. With documentation at the end: what is there, where it is, with which access.
4. Maintenance. Updates, monitoring and tested backups. A server without care becomes the problem it was meant to solve.
What it costs
It depends on the amount of data, on how many people work with it and on whether it has to keep running when something breaks. That last condition moves the price most, which is why we ask before we calculate.
The consultation and the proposal cost you nothing. Only the travel is charged, and we deduct half of it if you then award us the job.
FAQ
Our own server or everything in the cloud?
It depends on the line at the site, not on fashion. On a finca with a weak line, moving everything to the cloud means nobody works on the day the line fails. In an office in Palma with fibre, an own server is sometimes unnecessary. We look before we recommend.
Can you migrate the server we already have?
Yes. First we check what is there, what can be reused and what should be replaced. The migration is planned to keep the interruption as short as possible, always with a way back if something does not fit.
What happens if the hardware breaks?
That is why storage is redundant and the backup is also kept outside the building. A failing disk is a nuisance; a failing disk without a backup is a business at a standstill.
Do we need a server room?
A well-ventilated cabinet with a stabilised power supply is usually enough. What does not work is a storage room without ventilation: in summer in Mallorca, that is the most common cause of a failure that seemed inexplicable.
Can we work from outside the island?
Yes, with encrypted remote access. It is the norm for seasonally used properties and for companies whose management is not always here.
Related: Data backup · IT maintenance and support · All services for businesses