VPNs Take Off

As company networks become globally dispersed, employees need to access corporate resources from home and the road. In turn, as corporations need to securely exchange information, enterprises are increasingly adopting virtual private networks (VPN) for inexpensive security solutions. VPNs create secure, virtual tunnels to route company data and applications through low-cost access routes, such as carrier backbones and the public Internet.

VPNs are big business, and getting bigger. Infonetics Research says that end-user demand for VPN services is expected to reach $30.1 billion, worldwide, by 2008.

Businesses looking to take advantage of VPNs have a basic decision to make: build and manage them on their own, or go with a solution provided by a third party. When it comes to third-party solutions, AT&T stands heads and shoulders above competitors, according to several recently published studies. According to International Data Corp., Forrester Research, and In-Stat/MDR, the telecommunications and network-services giant will close out 2004 as the top VPN provider.

In the recent annual ranking of IP VPN service providers by International Data Corp., AT&T was the leader, with more than double the market share of its closest competitor. It is the second consecutive year that AT&T has taken the top spot.

The combination of AT&T's extensive footprint, wide-ranging VPN offerings, and comprehensive catalogue of related network services has a great appeal to enterprise customers. This is reflected in the company's triple-digit growth in IP VPN services.But going with a VPN provider is not for everyone, which is why some vendors are releasing VPN hardware and software to help businesses build and manage their own networks.

Problem is, the same VPN technology that protects the data also makes it difficult for IT managers to see, let alone manage and troubleshoot, network traffic. NetScout's new nGenius Performance Management Solution's new Site Monitoring and Reporting tries to tackle that problem by providing unified insight into applications delivered over IPSec and MPLS VPNs.

F5 also recently got into the act with a new version of its FirePass Controller, which offers ubiquitous secure application access, and offers simplified and scalable management. It allows VPN access from a wide variety of access modes, including dial-up, DSL, cable, and wireless networks.

Whether you go with a managed solution, or one of your own, you'll find more and more products and services headed your way. You might not be using a VPN today, but the odds are you will use one tomorrow.

Equant Launches VPN For Multinational Enterprises
Allows companies to mix and match best-of-breed or best-available network technologies for geographically diverse sites. Three Studies Name AT&T The VPN Market Leader
International Data Corp, Forrester and In-Stat/MDR say the company will close out the year as tops for VPNs.

NetScout Releases VPN Application Management Tool
Software offers greater visibility and more control over applications running in VPNs.

F5 Rolls Out New Firewall and SSL VPN
Products are designed to offer application-level protection and better security for wireless, DSL, cable, and dial-up access.

DEEP BACKGROUND

Verio Rolls Out Line Of VPN Solutions
Managed VPN services are intended to provide enterprises of any size with an easily deployed remote or point-to-point networking solution.Survey: AT&T Big Winner In Providing VPN Services
Forrester finds 90 percent of companies are using VPN services, and 22 percent of them use AT&T.

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