Telecommute Safely: Use Internet Technology to Keep Cost Down

Technology is shortening the daily office commute and providing a secure and economical link to clients, customers and satellite offices. With just a few keystrokes from a remote location with Internet access, users can link to an office network so that, for all intents and purposes, they're virtually working in that office. Not only is such a link relatively inexpensive, it provides enhanced communications security. Does such a link require the installation of a hot, new, expensive technology that requires intensive training of the organization's staff and information technology experts? Not at all, thanks to virtual private network (VPN), a technology that actually has been around since the mid-1990s but failed to gain popularity because the accounting profession has been slow to adjust to both advanced technology and, oddly enough, to modern management styles. In those old days, VPN was still considered high-tech, thus keeping technophobic managers at bay. Also, many older-generation managers distrusted telecommuting, believing that those working out of the office would be laggards and beyond their control. Many of today's managers now recognize both the efficiencies and economies of telecommuting. PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LINKS A VPN is essentially a software or hardware bridge for connecting a remote user to a company's local area network (LAN), which is a private network, via the Internet, which is a public network. And it does this without compromising privacy. VPN applies protocols for encapsulating and encrypting data flowing between a LAN and a remote computer. The result: It's as secure as the LAN itself. A VPN also is far less expensive to set up and operate than its alternative--leased data lines, which would cost, depending on the distance and transmission speed, from a couple of hundred dollars a month to a couple of thousand. COST AND COMPLEXITY The cost of a VPN setup depends on how much special hardware is needed and the type of VPN connection desired. Most offices with networks already own most of the necessary components, which include a server (the computer that manages network resources), a router or switch (to distribute riles within the network) and a firewall (software or hardware to prevent unauthorized access into or from the network). Most VPN implementations use software set up within the firewall. Also required is an Internet connection. A broadband connection, such as a digital subscriber line (DSL) (from an Internet Service Provider (ISP)) or cable (from a television cable company), is sufficient. A dial-up account is too slow to be usable unless you are deploying special linking software such as Citrix or Microsoft Terminal Server. However, those remote-access solutions are more expensive to implement and maintain. The ISP also must provide a static Internet Protocol (IP) address--a permanent Internet address. A VPN can be configured for three types of connections: * Remote access. This links a remote user to an organization's network via its server or desktop PCs and provides full network access from any place with an Internet connection. The user could, among other things, create documents or update an appointment calendar--in short, accomplish any on-site computer-related task. This is the simplest type of VPN to set up. * Intranet connection. This links two or more offices while providing each with access to the organization's network. Such a connection allows data to be stored and shared from a single access point (the main office) as opposed to maintaining separate and often duplicate information on every satellite office server. A retailer, for example, could maintain a single database of inventory accessible by all remote locations. This arrangement is more complicated and usually requires a consultant to do the setup. * Extranet. Such a link provides secure access directly to another LAN. …