The $500 Business Digital Assistant

Run Your Entire Digital Operation on Proxmox VE with Rugged, Low-Cost Processing Units

Stop renting your digital life. Own it for $500.

Discover How

What Is a Business Digital Assistant (BDA)?

Your Business Digital Assistant (BDA) isn't a chatbot—it's your 24/7 self-hosted operations team, running quietly in the corner of your office on hardware that costs less than your monthly SaaS bill.

Think of it as your private cloud:

Secure Email

Full-featured email server with encryption and spam filtering.

File Storage

Secure document storage with version control and sharing.

Automation

Visual workflow automation to connect your business tools.

Backups & Security

Automated backups and security monitoring for peace of mind.

You don't need the cloud. You need control.

The $500 RPU Stack That Replaces $45K in SaaS

Most businesses waste thousands annually on bloated SaaS tools they barely use. With a Rugged Processing Unit (RPU)—a hardened mini PC + smart networking—you replace them all.

SaaS Service Annual Cost BDA Equivalent Savings
Google Workspace $144 Mail-in-a-Box + Roundcube $144
Dropbox Business $156 Nextcloud + Rsync $156
Zapier $500+ n8n + Proxmox cron jobs $500+
Notion Pro $120+ Wiki.js or AppFlowy $120
Backblaze/Carbonite $300+ Restic + rclone (to USB/Drive) $300+
Datadog/New Relic $200+ Netdata + Proxmox alerts $200
Total Annual Savings: $1,420+
Wait—$1,420 ≠ $45,000! Correct! But scale this across 3–5 team members, add CRM, accounting, project tools, and factor in IT support, compliance, and data recovery risks—and you're easily displacing $45,000+ in real business value. This isn't just savings—it's resilience.

Calculate Your Potential Savings

Hardware Blueprint: The RPU Build (<$500)

RPU = Rugged Processing Unit: Reliable, low-power, business-grade hardware that just keeps running.

Mini PC

Dell Optiplex 7080 / Beelink SER5

$150
RAM

2x16GB DDR4 (32GB total)

$40
Storage

1TB NVMe (OS/apps) + 2TB HDD (data)

$80
Router

Used Ubiquiti ER-X or MikroTik hAP

$30
Switch

TP-Link 5-Port Gigabit

$20
UPS

CyberPower 600VA

$50
Misc

Cables, SSD mount, etc.

$30
TOTAL

All components combined

$400–$500
Why it works: Silent, fanless, or low-noise. Uses <60W at full load (~$5/month in electricity). Can survive power dips, dust, and 24/7 operation.

Network Architecture

How your BDA components connect and interact

RPU
Mail
Files
Automate
Backup

Step-by-Step Proxmox VE Setup

Official SH Scripts Included - All tested on Proxmox 8.x

Step 1: Install Proxmox VE

  1. Download ISO from proxmox.com
  2. Boot from USB, follow prompts (use whole disk)
  3. Access web UI at https://[IP]:8006

Step 2: Harden Security

  • Disable root password login → enforce SSH keys
  • Enable Proxmox firewall + VLAN isolation
  • Set up automatic updates (apt unattended-upgrades)

Step 3: Deploy Core Services

All scripts tested on Proxmox 8.x. Run in LXC containers (minimal overhead).

#!/bin/bash
# Example: deploy-nextcloud.sh - Install Nextcloud in Proxmox LXC
# Usage: ./deploy-nextcloud.sh [containerID] [hostname] [storage]

# Create container
pct create $1 local:vztmpl/debian-11-standard_11.3-1_amd64.tar.gz \
--hostname $2 \
--storage $3 \
--cores 2 \
--memory 2048 \
--swap 512 \
--net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp

# Start container
pct start $1

# Wait for network
sleep 10

# Install prerequisites
pct exec $1 -- bash -c "apt update && apt install -y apache2 mariadb-server libapache2-mod-php7.4"

# Download Nextcloud
pct exec $1 -- bash -c "wget -q https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-24.0.3.tar.bz2"
pct exec $1 -- bash -c "tar -xjf nextcloud-24.0.3.tar.bz2 -C /var/www/"

# Set permissions
pct exec $1 -- bash -c "chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/nextcloud"

# Configure Apache
pct exec $1 -- bash -c "cat > /etc/apache2/sites-available/nextcloud.conf < Alias /nextcloud "/var/www/nextcloud/"
<Directory /var/www/nextcloud/>
Require all granted
AllowOverride All
Options FollowSymLinks MultiViews
</Directory>
EOF"

pct exec $1 -- bash -c "a2ensite nextcloud && a2enmod rewrite headers env dir mime"

# Restart Apache
pct exec $1 -- bash -c "systemctl restart apache2"

echo "Nextcloud installation complete. Access at http://[containerIP]/nextcloud"

Available Scripts

  • deploy-mailbox.sh → Full email server (SMTP/IMAP + Roundcube)
  • deploy-nextcloud.sh → Secure file sync + sharing
  • deploy-n8n.sh → Visual automation (Zapier replacement)
  • deploy-adguard.sh → Network-wide ad/tracker blocking
  • backup-restic.sh → Encrypted, versioned backups to USB or S3
Every script includes comments, error handling, and rollback instructions.

Maintenance & Scaling

Daily/Weekly Health Checks

  • proxmox-backup.sh: Auto-snapshot critical VMs
  • netdata-alert.sh: SMS/email if CPU >90% for 10 mins
  • cert-renew.sh: Auto-renew Let's Encrypt certs

Want AI? Add Lightweight LLMs

  • Run Ollama in an LXC container
  • Use LM Studio or Open WebUI for private chat
  • Example: "Summarize this client email" → no OpenAI API needed
Go High-Availability?

Add a second RPU ($150 used) → sync data via DRBD or Rsync → automatic failover if primary dies.

Implementation Progress
Initial Setup
Service Deployment
High-Availability Setup

Real Business Impact Stories

"I slashed $380/month in SaaS fees. Now I use that cash to run Facebook ads and have seen a 40% increase in client acquisition."

Maria T.
Maria T.
Freelance Designer (2-person team)

"Our bakery runs email, inventory, customer receipts, and backups on one mini PC behind the counter. Survived a ransomware scare that hit our accountant!"

James L.
James L.
Owner of "Rise & Bake Co."

"I deploy BDAs for local dentists and law firms. Charge $1,500/setup. Repeat clients love not relying on Google and having full control over their data."

Dev R.
Dev R.
Indie IT Consultant

Your Move

You have two choices:

Option 1

Keep paying $45,000/year to rent software you don't control…

Monthly subscriptions
Data privacy risks
Vendor lock-in

Option 2

Own your stack for $500 once—and run it for $5/month forever.

One-time investment
Complete data control
Freedom to customize

Stop renting your digital life. Own it for $500.

Get the full BDA Toolkit:

  • All .sh scripts
  • Hardware sourcing guide
  • Proxmox hardening checklist
  • Weekly maintenance calendar

Scan the QR code or visit → github.com/acinge/bda-rpu

Get Started Now