With increasing consolidation within the network management industry and the big players concentrating on their corporate customers, it can be hard to find an affordable small business solution.

UK developer Prefix IT bucks that trend with its modular PrefixNE product, priced to appeal to the smaller company that’s looking for a low-cost, comprehensive management platform.

The initial install is a manual affair requiring a number of folders to be configured on a central Windows server, which will be used as a data repository for the information gathered by the program.

That’s followed by the setup of the management console and general network settings, after which it’s a matter of discovering PCs on the network and pushing the required agent software out to those you want to manage.

Unfortunately there’s no support for anything other than Windows, but any version from Windows 95 onwards can be managed (including servers) and installation of the agent is, again, a very quick and easy process, taking just a few seconds. Moreover, although the agent does most of the work, communicating directly with the repository server, it’s very light in terms of processing and network overheads.

The management interface does take a little getting used to and what you can do from the PrefixNE console will depend on the modules purchased. Five modules are available, starting with the core Prefix Manage module, which provides facilities to manage hardware and software inventories and monitor software use, as well as providing a basic help desk and reporting facility.

The Prefix Enforce module then adds the ability to blacklist applications, stop users shutting down processes and control the network file sharing policy.

It also lets you restrict access to PCs and specific network assets. You can also restrict or block the use of flash memory drives, MP3 players and PDAs.

Prefix Guard is another security module which gives even more control over external and network storage, with tools to disable specific devices and ports and generally manage the flow of data in and out of the network.

Most customers will also opt for Prefix Act, which adds tools to distribute software and updates and automate tasks. For example, it lets you start and stop services, copy files around and shutdown and restart PCs remotely from the console as well as take remote control to troubleshoot problems.

And lastly there’s Prefix Critical Alerts, which lets you set your own rules to trigger alerts when specific conditions arise, as well as providing tools to analyse event logs for trends and potential problems.

We found PrefixNE very easy to understand and use. A basic level of technical knowledge is assumed, but it should be well within the scope of most small business network managers. We were also impressed by the performance, and you’re always working with up-to-date information rather than historical data, as is the case with some inventory-based products.

On the downside the documentation didn’t always tally with what we saw on screen, and it can be hard to work out exactly which modules you might need to get the tools you want ­ though you can trial the package before buying, which always helps.

Price depends on the number of PCs and modules involved, with the cost spread over three years and paid monthly, making this an affordable management platform, worth more than a quick glance.