Remote Access

Typically enterprises use Managed VPN services based on MPLS, Lease lines, RF-links at the heart of their network infrastructure to connect the branch offices to form a single large network.With such managed VPN services, enterprises can be rest assured that the business critical applications are always available to their corporate network users.

Although such managed VPN provides highly reliable branch to branch connectivity, there are some inherent issues left for the organizations to solve:

1. Access to Roaming Users: MPLS based connectivity is limited to branch offices. There is no support by default for roaming users, day extenders or partners who want to have access to the corporate resources outside of the branch offices? Enterprises require mobile users, extranet users like partners, consultants and day extenders to be able to connect to corporate network from anywhere and using any device without any pre-requisites.

2. Granular Access Control: Often, Enterprises need to provide restricted access to partners and extranet users so that they can access what they need to get the required work done. These external non-employee users might be accessing the corporate network from un-trusted network and un-trusted machines. Enterprises would like to make sure that when such users connect to their network:

a. Enterprises should be able to granularly control what users can access
b. Enterprises should be able to enforce security policies to un-managed machines

Managed connectivity options like MPLS, Lease lines, RF link do not facilitates such security features.

3. Cost of Connectivity: The cost of connectivity based on managed VPN technologies MPLS, Lease lines, RF link is generally high as the enterprise is being charged for the physical and logical connectivity. The high per site cost model is not very scalable for organizations having smaller offices in large no. which needs to be connected to central location. To continue the fast expansion plan, organizations need to keep the connectivity cost to minimum by relying on cheaper connectivity options like broadband internet.

4. Backup: Although MPLS, lease lines, RF link are resistant to failure at main locations the last mile connectivity is generally bad at smaller cities. Organizations even face downtimes at main locations for hours per month. In such case organizations must have fall back connectivity options which is highly cost effective and can provide secure access in case of downtimes.

5. Preparing for Disaster Recovery: Organizations for any size must have a disaster recovery plan which can make all their applications available to all of their users in case of any natural or manmade calamity. In normal scenarios, the remote access infrastructure of the enterprise takes in to account the current concurrent remote user needs. And so is replicated at the DR site. But in case of an emergency all the LAN users also becomes remote users to the disaster recovery site. To be able to accommodate such high no. of remote users, enterprises must invest in a much larger remote access infrastructure that can accommodate the total no. of users in case of emergency to continue the business. At the same time the disaster recovery connectivity infrastructure needs to be highly cost effective as it will be used very rarely in whole life span.

No managed connectivity solutions like MPLS, Lease lines, RF link have any answers to the above problems.

Propalms VPN provides a very effective and affordable solution to the above mentioned problems.

1. Propalms VPN provides access to roaming users using a web browser from any type of network and devices. Users just need internet connection and a browser to be able to securely access corporate applications.

2. Propalms VPN makes desired applications available to the remote users. The VPN administrator has full control over a user session. Access can be provided based on user role pulled from the centralized user repository or based on the trust level of the device used by the user, making secure access possible from unmanaged machines without requiring any end user management.

3. Using Propalms VPN, enterprises can enable a dynamic VPN to remote users over Internet. Users do not need any costly infrastructure to get access to applications.

4. A broadband Internet is a very cost effective fallback solution to MPLS, Lease lines, RF links, etc. To make application access secure over Internet, enterprises should use Propalms VPN.

5. Enterprises can enable access to disaster recovery site using Propalms VPN over broadband Internet connection. Propalms VPN will enable secure access to DR site at the time of emergency. Propalms VPN can be deployed in dormant mode as a virtual appliance which will not cost anything to enterprises until the DR site is actually in use.