£1500 and two days to spend it!

[BooBoo]

I've just been given a little extra cash:D, £1500 which I was going to spend on Ranger Outpost but they can't guarentee that it would/will work with Win2008 so i didn't bother. However, it turns out I had ring fenced the money and it's still there. Our budget was frozen on the 5th so this is a bit of a Brucee bonus.

 

So I have £1500 and two days, what are your recommendations.

 

I have print management but not remote admin, we've budgeted for NetOP or equivalent next FY. Wireless is fine and so are my switches. I wouldn't get away with a plasma screen:( and I have Digital Signage.

 

Thanks in advance,

Martin

[EduTech]

buy yourself a new computer , monitor? or get one of those keyboards where you can personalise the keys

 

anyway... ucum! ... upgrade some machines that might be a little on the *put in bin* side.. if you have any.

[Domino]

an R&D enviroment.

 

one server, a couple of clients and build a test domain.

 

Great for things that you don't wanna try on the live network for fear of breaking stuff

[ninjabeaver]

I have print management but not remote admin, we've budgeted for NetOP or equivalent next FY. Wireless is fine and so are my switches. I wouldn't get away with a plasma screen:( and I have Digital Signage.

 

Thanks in advance,

Martin

 

Look at ABControl as well. Might give NetOP a run for their money. Clients are free and you only pay for the ABTutor Control licences. Buy 10+ and they are £125 each. Had a Demo at BETTS2009 and it's now here waiting to be installed.

[Disaster]

Look at ABControl as well. Might give NetOP a run for their money. Clients are free and you only pay for the ABTutor Control licences. Buy 10+ and they are £125 each. Had a Demo at BETTS2009 and it's now here waiting to be installed.

 

this ^ and you'll still have loads of cash to play with.

 

I'd be investing in some IT office goodies that would make my job easier...

[rad]

Buy yourself a "test machine" of the latest type, printer etc to equip your office.

 

Or just get some more machines/monitors as standby.

[dhicks]

So I have £1500 and two days, what are your recommendations.

 

Buy hardware, more computers - software you can get for free. You could get maybe 10 netbooks for that much, or a bank or two of half-a-dozen thin-client machines to put in the back of a classroom.

 

--

David Hicks

[contink]

Spares... laptop hard drives, keyboards, optical mice, something that you've always thought would be useful but never been able to demo...

 

New screen, keyboard and mouse for yourself..

 

A phone that says "have you tried turning it off and then on again".. Ok, ok... so getting ahead of myself.. Skies the limit I reckon

[tom_newton]

Web Filtering?

[mburland]

Easy!

 

A "Research trip" to Silicon Valley, that just happens to divert you through Napa Valley with a few days in Southern California just for good measure.

[webman]

You could buy an iPod. Or a low-spec Mac.

[Aurora77]

why not improving your network? Memory, hard disks, virtual machines, security solutions... you might have a need somewhere... :-)

[browolf]

U could get 5 2nd hand blade centres from ict-direct. that's like 70 servers equivalent. bet they'd last you for ages!

[silver_hippo]

Easy!

 

A "Research trip" to Silicon Valley, that just happens to divert you through Napa Valley with a few days in Southern California just for good measure.

 

Ha ha i agree ^^

[FN-GM]

I wouldn't go with ranger outpost. I would go with sonicwall SSL VPN. If can do everything outpost can do and much more. It can make a secure connection to a terminal server etc.

 

Z

[Michael]

Donate it to my beer fund? I can see the Purchase Order already "Logistix Beer Fund"...

[m25man]

I second the SSL-VPN Appliance option...

If not buy a Fluke Nettool MkII you will use it everyday and it will pay you back 10 times over a 3 yr life cycle.