Sutus Business Central 200

One of a new business's first steps is to install office tools for day-to-day communications, including a , phone lines, and a file server. The Business Central 200 combines these devices in a single appliance, simplifying setup and helping you avoid having to configure multiple pieces of unrelated gear individually.

The Business Central 200's specs are strangely dated

Some of the Business Central 200's specs are strangely dated, such as single-band, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi; 250GB of storage; and a single gigabit ethernet port. But for the most part, the unified approach works, getting your small business running quickly with minimal configuration hassles.

The Business Central 200 targets offices with anywhere from a handful to 25 employees. It could fit well in a retail shop, connecting to your point-of-sale system or security cameras, or it could serve as the backend communications spine of your service-based office. You can even install another Business Central 200 at a satellite office, permanently bridging phones and files through the virtual private network (VPN).

The reseller

Depending on the reseller, you can either obtain the hardware preconfigured or have your IT administrator set it up. The Business Central 200's main box attaches to your Internet connection, and you build out your network over its eight 100-mbps ethernet ports and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. VoIP phones attach to the network, and the device provides power-over-ethernet so you don't need to plug the phones into an outlet. You can even use the included bridge to connect a traditional phone system.

Sutus bases the price of its Business Central 200 hardware on the number of users, even though the license is fixed and doesn't require renewal. The $2199 rate provides basic server and phone gateway hardware for five users. The price for up to a dozen users is $2898, and hardware for up to 25 users costs $3897. VoIP handset hardware and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) service cost extra.