Is it new or a replacement?
Server and Storage South Africa covers the machines that hold your data and run your business applications, whether that is one server in a cupboard or a virtualised pair in a rack. Describe what you run and compare hardware prices and support options.
Describe what you run and get server quotes. Every reply comes from a LEADERR APPROVED provider.
Get the Best QuoteWhat Businesses Still Run On Site
- Line of business applications. The accounting, manufacturing or practice system that needs a server.
- File storage. Where connectivity makes cloud file access slow or expensive.
- Databases. Often kept local for performance and for the application vendor's support.
- Backup targets. A local copy to restore from quickly, with a second copy off site.
- Domain services. Authentication and policy, though increasingly moved to cloud identity.
- Virtualisation hosts. Several servers consolidated onto one or two physical machines.
Choosing the Shape
- Tower server. The small office answer, quiet enough to sit in an office cupboard.
- Rack server. Where there is a cabinet and more than one machine.
- NAS. Storage and backup for a small business, far cheaper than a server.
- Virtualised pair. Two hosts so one can fail without stopping the business.
- Hyperconverged. Compute and storage in the same nodes, common at mid size.
- Hybrid. Local for performance, cloud for backup and overflow.
Server and Storage Prices
Ballpark figures before software licensing.
| Item | Ballpark price |
|---|---|
| Entry tower server, supplied and configured | R45,000 - R95,000 |
| Mid-range rack server, supplied and configured | R95,000 - R280,000 |
| Virtualisation host pair with shared storage | R350,000 - R1,200,000 |
| 4-bay NAS with drives, supplied and configured | R18,000 - R55,000 |
| Windows Server licence, per server | R18,000 - R45,000 |
| Uninterruptible power supply, rack mounted | R12,000 - R65,000 |
| Server migration from old hardware | R15,000 - R65,000 |
| Server support and monitoring, per server per month | R1,500 - R3,500 |
Prices JUST UPDATED. Ballpark figures, rounded, excluding VAT. They reflect typical South African IT support and technology rates. They are not our prices or quotations, and no provider is bound by them. Confirm what each quotation includes, such as how many users or devices are covered, the response times, after-hours cover and licence fees.
Get a specified price for your own workload rather than a range.
Get the Best QuoteWhat Affects the Price
- How much storage. And whether it is fast solid state or bulk capacity.
- How much memory. Usually the first thing to run out on a virtualisation host.
- Redundancy. Dual power supplies, mirrored disks and a second host all add cost.
- Licensing. Server and database licences often exceed the hardware.
- Support level. Next business day parts versus four hour onsite response.
- Power protection. A load shedding plan is not optional in South Africa.
- Whether the old data has to move. Migration is a project in its own right.
What to Include in Your Request
- What the server will run. The application vendor usually publishes a specification.
- How many users. And how many use it at the same time.
- How much data. Current size and how fast it is growing.
- What you have now. Make, model, age and whether it is still under support.
- Where it will live. A cabinet, a cupboard or a server room, and whether it is cooled.
- Your power arrangement. Inverter, generator or neither.
Before the Provider Quotes
- Ask for the vendor's specification. Quote against what the application vendor requires, not a guess.
- Ask about the warranty term. Three years is standard; five is worth pricing.
- Ask what happens when a disk fails. Hot spare, next day part, or a call to an importer.
- Plan the power. A server that keeps restarting during load shedding will fail early.
- Ask about the backup. A server without a tested backup is a single point of failure for the business.
- Price the cloud alternative too. For some workloads it is now cheaper over five years.
Server and Storage FAQs
Do we still need a server?
Many businesses do not. If your email and files are in the cloud and your applications have cloud versions, a server is an expense without a purpose. You still need one where a line of business application requires it, where connectivity is poor, or where data volumes make cloud storage expensive.
Is a NAS enough instead of a server?
For file storage and backup in a small business, often yes, at a fraction of the price. A NAS cannot run a Windows application or act as a domain controller, so it is a complement rather than a replacement where those are needed.
How long should a server last?
Five years is the usual planning figure and matches the longest common warranty. Hardware frequently runs longer, but out of warranty you are relying on parts availability, and the risk rises sharply once the manufacturer stops supporting the model.
What does load shedding do to a server?
Repeated unclean shutdowns damage disks and corrupt databases. An uninterruptible power supply large enough to shut the server down gracefully is the minimum; an inverter or generator that keeps it and the network running is what most South African businesses end up with.
Should we virtualise?
If you would otherwise buy more than one server, yes. Virtualisation consolidates several workloads onto fewer machines, makes backup and recovery far simpler, and lets you move a workload to new hardware without rebuilding it.
How do we move off an old server?
Either migrate the workloads to new hardware, virtualise the old server as it is, or move the workload to a cloud service. Which is right depends almost entirely on the application. Start by asking its vendor what they support.
Server and storage work is quoted by several of the providers on IT Support South Africa usually alongside the backup and support that go with it.
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