[zmatt]

I didn't know where else to post this since we really don't have a board that this fits into. but onto the problem.

I have a new client who is a member of a small local team of financial planning businesses. They need a better way to store client information in a more secure, and centralized way. i went down a quick list with one of the managers to show how many options they have ie: DVDs, FTP server, Tapes, Database etc etc. anyways what do you think the best option is? I haven't spoken with them in great depth yet but i was leaning towards an ftp server paired with tape or dvd backups. Do you guys have an better ideas? And how much do you think i should charge for the consulting not considering the fees of installing any hardware/software yet. This is a big break for me and the 3rd local company that has come to me for services, so I want to do this right.

[macdude425]

I would use tape as the primary means of storing the data. It's fast, and when stored properly, lasts a very long while.

FTP would be crazily slow unless it's a great deal of small files clumped together, and they'd only need to get to a handful at a time.

As for fees to charge, wrong department for me.

[zmatt]

well we are talking spreadsheets and such nothing over 1meg. is there a server internet based solution that would be better? these are a few groups spread across town so i cant just go and make shared folders in a network. Thats why I considered ftp. Is there a type of database out there that can do this? up until now they have emailed each other needed files but thats kind of annoying and slow.