Many agents retain a file server just to keep their brochures, wordprocessor files and pictures. Here's a technology that I think does away with the need altogether.
dropbox.com is a free cloud based service that gives each subscriber 2GB of storage space on Dropbox's servers.
Many others offer something similar but Dropbox has some clever features that make it far better than most:
It integrates into Windows Explorer like a folder or drive so you just save to your Dropbox folder in your Windows applications in the normal way.
When you save, Dropbox's little app works behind the scenes to save locally and then quietly syncs with the Dropbox space in the cloud. So, there's no apparent wait time whilst big files are uploaded.
Dropbox keeps the cloud and your PC synchronised at all times. I have Dropbox on my home PC, the family Mac, my laptop, my office PC and my iPhone. My files are kept perfectly in sync and can be accessed anywhere.
However, the really clever bit is that Dropboxes can be shared. So, I have my own private Dropbox account and we have a Training Department Dropbox which is shared between us all. That's the file server replacement. We now all carry a live, up to date copy of shared files wherever we go.
Standard 2gb Dropboxes are free. A 100gb Dropbox is a few pounds per month. You sign up at dropbox.com
There's one catch. If, like me, you synchronise with lots of devices, you'll use a lot of your internet data allowance. Dropbox is clever - it seems to sync slowly so it doesn't slow down your broadband but it could push you over your data limit. I'm on a limited download connection at home - 10gb. I went beyond this in the first month of using Dropbox and BT pinged me for a further charge. Take real care if you use a 3G mobile phone connection!
