Self-healing computing could be just what the doctor ordered for small businesses.

Nitix, described as an "autonomic server operating system," comes with a made-in-Canada label. Developed by Net Integration Technologies Inc. of Markham, Ont., the autonomic part of Nitix has computing functions such as self-management, self-configuration, self-optimization and the aforementioned self-healing capabilities -- all part of a Linux-based system specifically designed for small businesses.

When things do fail or have a hiccup, the autonomic engine [in Nitix] is designed to go and deal with these problems," says Ozzy Papic, chief executive officer of Net Integration Technologies. "It's best described as a large number of self-regulating subsystems that can do logical and smart things in correcting conditions, even those that haven't been encountered before."