There are many ways employees can access company information, but
which issues should managers consider when choosing a network for
their business?
Remote access seems to mean different things to different people.
It can refer to the way people who work from home access their
company's database; it might mean branch offices of big
corporations that need constant interaction with systems at the
company headquarters; or it can mean mobile workers who upload and
download information from their hotel room, car or their customers'
premises.
The amount of information passing to and from the company
headquarters differs in intensity, just as the types of remote user
varies enormously. The method of transporting that information also
varies, with information being carried along every type of medium
from second generation mobile phones networks to privately leased
mega pipes.
Technology issues
Compatibility is not an issue as most products conform to standards
and virtually the entire industry uses Internet Protocol
externally. IP is even gaining precedence on internal communication
systems.
Companies generally choose the same hardware supplier to connect a
network at either end, but where different brands are used, the
equipment is only marginally affected.
Similarly, the transport mechanism is not subject to any
compatibility issues, be it the public phone network, a form of
wireless communication, a public high-speed connection like ISDN or
ADSL, a private leased line or internet access in any combination
of these. Even in networks where a variety of transport mechanisms
to carry data between remote users and the corporate database are
used, there will be a standard gateway.
Business issues
The major business decision is to decide whether users linked via
remote technology will be more productive. Some of the advantages
of remote access include:
- Remote workers can save employers costs on travel and office
space
- Employees can have constant, up-to-date access to details of
their company's products, services and inventory
- Branch offices can be in contact with head office
- The reporting and collating of information can be quicker,
making a business more responsive to its customers and enabling it
to generate more sales.
Remote access is possible using an ordinary public switched
telephone network, but some companies require much larger networks
to deal with constant queries to a corporate database from many
users. In this case,a company might lease a private line - prices
start from about £12,000 a month - to provide the bandwidth and
privacy needed.
Management issues
Remote access has been a reality for corporations with branch
offices for some time. However, remote access can be a complex
project to undertake, mainly because the security and management
issues often mean a company has to donate time and resources it
does not have.
At enterprise level, the major development in recent years has been
the dramatic change in the extent users access information. Whereas
end-users once used their PCs to emulate the dumb terminals
traditionally used to access the corporate mainframe, information
can now be presented in a more web-friendly format. The processing
of information is also more user-friendly, meaning that more data
is being sent down the lines.
User friendliness is a major consideration in employing a remote
access solution. It is expensive enough to support end-users on
PC-based systems when they are in the same building as the IT
department, but this is made much more difficult when support staff
have no physical access to the employees' equipment. For this
reason, the hardware and applications linking end-users to the
corporate system must be "plug-and-play".
This can be done through the use of remote diagnostic tools, such
as PC Anywhere, which enable the support technician in the central
IT department to take charge of the remote user's PC and identify
any problems.
Another major consideration in managing users comes from the
logistical problem of having many different users accessing the
system at the same time - managing banks of modems is an onerous
task for IT support staff.
Another drawback is the potential security risk in giving outside
users the chance to access mission-critical systems. The company
can be exposed to the risk of hackers stealing information or
damaging a system. This is why virtual private networks have become
so popular with companies needing to grant secure remote access.
A virtual private network is a system that uses the internet, but
also encrypts the data so that, should intruders find a way to
intercept a message, it cannot be read. The bandwidth is much lower
than the speed of a leased line, making it suitable for companies
that do not transmit large amounts of data.
VPN packages can give an indication of the level of bandwidth use
and predict how much will be needed by end-users. Packages can also
measure the performance given by the internet service provider when
setting up the VPN.
Summary- VPNs decimate the price of secure remote access and businesses
need to evaluate whether an expensive leased line link to branch
offices is required or whether a VPN will be adequate
- There is a cultural hurdle to overcome so the organisation
needs to address the way it manages teleworkers and other remote
users
- Make security a number one concern. High-speed services such as
ADSL never disconnect from the internet, exposing users to a
greater security risk than more basic dial-up modems.
Suppliers in the remote access market- Hardware companies offering remote access systems include
Perle, Extreme Networks, Nortel and Cisco
- Software companies offering dedicated remote access products,
include Avia (a spin-off company from Lucent) and VPNet.
- Remote access software may also be offered as a subset of other
security products such as a firewalls, routers or encryption
programs. Suppliers include Checkpoint, Netscreen and
Watchguard.