Microsoft Windows XP Pro
Designed for businesses of all sizes and for home users who demand the most from their computing experience, Windows XP Professional delivers the new standard in reliability and performance. It includes all the great features and new visual design of Windows XP Home Edition, plus premier security and privacy features, advanced recovery options, improved ability to connect to large networks, and much more.
» Compare between XP Home and XP Pro here «
- Helps Protect Your PC
Automatically keep your PC up-to-date with the latest security enhancements including the Windows Security Center, Windows Firewall, and more to help protect your computer from viruses and worms that can spread through the Internet. - Quickly Connect to Wireless Networks
Windows XP Professional provides rich, wireless network support, helping you simply and easily connect to wireless networks whether in your home, office, or out on the road. - Keep Your Laptop More Secure
The Encrypting File System, only in Windows XP Professional, provides an additional level of file protection from hackers and data theft by transparently encrypting files with a randomly generated key. If your laptop gets stolen or lost, unauthorized users should not be able to read or view your confidential files. - Get More Life Out of Your Laptop Battery
Save battery power when you're working on the road, at the library, or coffee shop. Windows XP Professional extends battery life by managing the way your laptop uses power. Now you can work longer on battery power and more accurately forecast how long your batteries will last. - Set Up and Share Your Computer Quickly and Easily
Quickly set up and connect all the computers, printers, devices, and an Internet connection in your home with the all new Network Setup Wizard. Sharing a computer with others has never been easier; quickly access your personal files and accounts without having to close applications or restart the computer. - Easy To Use
The clean, simple design of Windows XP Professional puts the features you use most often at your fingertips, helping you find them quickly. - Work From Anywhere
The Remote Desktop feature found only in Windows XP Professional allows you to remotely access your PC running Windows XP Professional, from another Windows-based PC, so you can work with all of your files and applications while away from your office or home PC. - Recover Easily From Problems Caused by System or Application Changes
If something goes wrong with your computer, you can easily remove and roll back any system or application changes without losing files and other valuable information. - Join a Network or Domain
Windows XP Professional is designed to work with Windows Server networks and includes capabilities for both small office networks with up to 10 PCs and Windows Server based networks. - Work With the Tools You Need to Get Things Done
Choose from the widest range of software, hardware, and services designed to work together seamlessly including support for many older applications designed for earlier versions of Windows.
Building Your Business On Windows XP Professional
Start With Windows XP Pro. Grow With Windows XP Pro.
Microsoft Windows XP Professional gives small business the dependable
computing experience they need to get the most from their business PCs
and stay better connected with customers and business partners. It sets
a new standard for dependability, with a reliable foundation you can count
on to keep your business PCs up and running. The networking capabilities
of Windows XP Professional will expand the capacity of your business PCs,
increasing productivity by allowing more collaboration between colleagues
and even saving valuable resources.
Windows XP Professional provides you with the technology foundation to
grow your business, whether your requirements are simply sharing information
or a printer with co-workers or more advanced needs such as accessing
your office computer remotely and hosting your business Web site.
Getting Connected
A NETWORKED FOUNDATION
For most businesses, networking means sharing—sharing information,
resources, and activities. Businesses with up to ten computers can gain
these benefits from Windows XP Professional and a small office peer-to-peer
network. A small office peer-to-peer network is a network without a dedicated
server, where two or more computers, printers, and other devices are linked
either by cables (a wired or Ethernet network) or by radio waves (a wireless
or Wi-Fi network). The following explains wired and wireless networks
in more depth to help determine which type of peer-to-peer network is
right for your small business.
- Wired Networks
Wired networks, also called Ethernet networks, are the most common type of local area network (LAN) technology. A wired network is simply a collection of two or more computers, printers, and other devices linked by Ethernet cables. Wired networks can also be used as part of other wired and wireless networks. Wired network hardware is typically less expensive than wireless hardware, but does require more setup time, such as running cables between the computers and making changes in your building infrastructure to accommodate them. - Wireless Networks
A wireless network is simply a collection of two or more computers, printers, and other devices linked by radio waves. Wireless networks in most small businesses use a wireless protocol called Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11b, or Wi-Fi. Because this protocol works by radio transmission, cables are not required to connect the computers as they are in wired (Ethernet) networks. Although wireless network hardware may be more expensive than wired network hardware, wireless networks incur less building infrastructure costs for setup and provide you with the flexibility of easily moving your wireless network to another location — making wireless networks more cost effective in the long run.
SHARED INTERNET CONNECTION
With Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) in Windows XP Professional, you
can connect one computer to the Internet, and then share the Internet
service with up to ten computers on your wired or wireless network. Each
computer can use programs such as Internet Explorer and Outlook Express
as if they were directly connected to the Internet. This eliminates the
need to have a separate dial-up or broadband connection for each computer,
saving your business money.
Sharing Information
DOCUMENTS AND FOLDERS
One of the best reasons to create a small office network is allowing employees
and colleagues access to a common set of business data, files and folders.
Sharing your business data means easier and faster access to the critical
business information your employees need—and no more running from
computer to computer with a floppy disk to share your files. The ability
to create access control lists also ensures that only those employees
with access to data will have the ability to open the file. For example,
your accounting documents can be shared on your small office network with
only the business owner and accountant, without fear that the rest of
the company will have access to the files. If you are using a laptop,
Windows XP Professional can automatically synchronize the shared folders
on your small office network and make them available to you while you
are away from the office and not connected to the small office network.
PRINTERS
Another benefit of a small office network is the ability to share devices,
such as printers, amongst the computers on the network. You can easily
print documents on a shared printer that is attached to another computer
on your small office network. If you have just one printer in your business,
each employee on the small office network can access that printer as though
it is attached directly to their computer.
YOUR BUSINESS WEB SITE
Windows XP Professional also includes the ability to independently host
a web and FTP site using Internet Information Services (IIS), extending
your ability to communicate internally or with customers via the web.
With the web site hosted at your place of business rather than located
elsewhere at an ISP, you will have complete control over your web site
content. Since IIS can host any domain name that you register (such as
www.yoursmallbusiness.com), it will also help you portray your business
in a more progressive and professional manner. Small businesses that require
the ability to host more than one web site should consider upgrading to
Small Business Server 2003 for additional functionality.
Keeping Your Data Safe
INTERNET CONNECTION FIREWALL
When you create a small office network connected to the Internet, you
increase the vulnerability of your computers to unauthorized access and
viruses. To better protect your small office network, you need to create
a type of barrier called a firewall. Like an actual firewall built to
prevent fire from spreading between adjoining buildings, computer firewalls
prevent the spread of unauthorized communication between an individual
computer or group of networked computers and the Internet
One of the most effective ways to protect a small office network—and
the least expensive—is to create a firewall on the Internet Connection
Sharing host computer, and to make sure that computer is the only one
on the network with a direct connection to the Internet. Windows XP Professional
provides an Internet Connection Firewall that is activated by default
when setting up your small office network via the Network Setup Wizard.
Connecting Remotely
With a small office network installed and your data, files, folders and
devices shared, small businesses can also take advantage of the more advanced
features in Windows XP Professional, such as remotely accessing your data
and computer when away from the office. Virtual Private Networking, Remote
Desktop and Wireless Roaming all provide a seamless connection to your
small business computers from wherever you happen to be.
VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKING
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows you to rely on the Internet as
a secure pipeline to your small office network. This secure pipeline,
which only you can access, can be made through almost any Internet connection.
Once logged in, you have full access to your small office network, computers
and devices as though you were directly connected to the network at your
office.
REMOTE DESKTOP
Remote Desktop lets you access your Windows XP Professional computer from
anywhere, over any connection, using any Windows-based computer with an
Internet connection. A Remote Desktop connection provides you secure,
remote access to all your software applications, files, and devices—as
if you were sitting in front of your office computer. Any software applications
that you leave running on your office computer will also be running when
you connect remotely—from home, a conference room, or on the road.
You can also copy and paste files between your office computer and your
remote computer, which can be very helpful if you accidentally leave a
document in the office.
WIRELESS ROAMING
Windows XP Professional takes advantage of wireless technology and public
wireless network access points, also called "hot spots". These
hot spots are growing in a number of public locations such as airports,
conference centers, and coffee shops. As you move from one location to
a new location, automatic wireless network configuration searches for
available wireless networks and notifies you when a new wireless networks
becomes available for you to connect to. By having the ability to access
the web and e-mail from anywhere via a public wireless network, you can
better stay connected to your customers and business anywhere, anytime.
Available in South Africa