Many businesses start with a simple departmental folder structure like this:

\\FileServer\
├── Sales\
├── Marketing\
├── Finance\
└── Operations\

But over time, this becomes messy as teams create subfolders without governance. Common issues include:

• Duplicate folder names (e.g., multiple "Projects" folders)
• Inconsistent naming conventions
• Permission inheritance problems
• Difficulty locating files

Here's a recommended structure that scales well for SBS2011 environments:

\\FileServer\
├── Departments\
│   ├── Sales\
│   │   ├── Clients\
│   │   ├── Contracts\
│   │   └── Reports\
│   ├── Marketing\
│   │   ├── Campaigns\
│   │   ├── Assets\
│   │   └── Analytics\
│   └── Finance\
│       ├── Invoices\
│       ├── Payroll\
│       └── Budgets\
├── Projects\
│   ├── Active\
│   └── Archive\
└── Shared\
    ├── Templates\
    └── Company\

Here's a script to create this structure programmatically:

# Define base path
$root = "\\FileServer\BusinessData"

# Create department folders
$departments = @("Sales","Marketing","Finance","Operations")
foreach ($dept in $departments) {
    New-Item -Path "$root\Departments\$dept" -ItemType Directory
    New-Item -Path "$root\Departments\$dept\Clients" -ItemType Directory
    New-Item -Path "$root\Departments\$dept\Reports" -ItemType Directory
}

# Create project structure
New-Item -Path "$root\Projects\Active" -ItemType Directory
New-Item -Path "$root\Projects\Archive" -ItemType Directory

# Create shared folders
New-Item -Path "$root\Shared\Templates" -ItemType Directory
New-Item -Path "$root\Shared\Company" -ItemType Directory

Use this PowerShell snippet to set basic NTFS permissions:

# Set Sales department permissions
$salesPath = "$root\Departments\Sales"
$salesGroup = "DOMAIN\Sales Team"

$acl = Get-Acl $salesPath
$rule = New-Object System.Security.AccessControl.FileSystemAccessRule(
    $salesGroup,
    "Modify",
    "ContainerInherit,ObjectInherit",
    "None",
    "Allow"
)
$acl.SetAccessRule($rule)
Set-Acl -Path $salesPath -AclObject $acl

Regularly run this script to identify empty folders:

Get-ChildItem -Path $root -Recurse -Directory | 
Where-Object { $_.GetFiles().Count -eq 0 -and $_.GetDirectories().Count -eq 0 } |
Select-Object FullName

When moving to this new structure:

• Plan the migration during low-usage periods
• Use robocopy for large file transfers
• Update all shortcuts and mapped drives
• Communicate changes to all users

Many organizations start with a simple departmental structure like this:

.
├── Sales
│   ├── Client_A
│   └── Client_B
├── Marketing
│   ├── Campaign_2023
│   └── Assets
└── Finance
    ├── Invoices
    └── Reports

While intuitive initially, this approach quickly becomes problematic when:

• Multiple departments need access to shared resources
• Projects span across departments
• Version control becomes difficult
• Search functionality breaks down

For SBS2011 environments, consider this hybrid structure combining function and project organization:

.
├── Departments
│   ├── HR
│   ├── Finance
│   └── IT
├── Projects
│   ├── Project_X
│   └── Project_Y
├── Shared
│   ├── Templates
│   └── Resources
└── Archive
    ├── 2020
    └── 2021

Here's a script to create this structure programmatically:

# Define base path and folder structure
$root = "\\sbs2011\CompanyShare"
$folders = @(
    "Departments\HR",
    "Departments\Finance",
    "Departments\IT",
    "Projects\Project_X",
    "Projects\Project_Y",
    "Shared\Templates",
    "Shared\Resources",
    "Archive\2020",
    "Archive\2021"
)

# Create folder structure
foreach ($folder in $folders) {
    $fullPath = Join-Path -Path $root -ChildPath $folder
    if (-not (Test-Path $fullPath)) {
        New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $fullPath | Out-Null
        Write-Host "Created: $fullPath"
    }
}

# Set permissions (example for HR folder)
$acl = Get-Acl "\\sbs2011\CompanyShare\Departments\HR"
$rule = New-Object System.Security.AccessControl.FileSystemAccessRule("HR_Group","FullControl","ContainerInherit,ObjectInherit","None","Allow")
$acl.AddAccessRule($rule)
Set-Acl -Path "\\sbs2011\CompanyShare\Departments\HR" -AclObject $acl

Implement these rules for consistency:

// Recommended naming pattern
[ProjectCode]_[Description]_[YYYYMMDD]_[Version]
Example: PRJX_ClientProposal_20230615_v2.docx

// Department-specific prefixes
- SAL_ for Sales
- MKT_ for Marketing
- FIN_ for Finance

When transitioning from old to new structure:

1. Run a file inventory scan first
2. Create mapping between old and new locations
3. Use robocopy for the actual migration

Example robocopy command:

robocopy \\sbs2011\OldShare\Sales \\sbs2011\NewShare\Departments\Sales /E /ZB /COPYALL /R:1 /W:1 /LOG+:migration.log

Regular maintenance is crucial. This PowerShell script identifies empty folders:

Get-ChildItem -Path "\\sbs2011\CompanyShare" -Recurse -Directory | 
Where-Object { $_.GetFiles().Count -eq 0 -and $_.GetDirectories().Count -eq 0 } | 
Select-Object FullName