VPNs (or Virtual Private Networks) are rapidly increasing in popularity and usage. As more of our personal and business lives take place on the internet and via email, there is an increased need to protect and look after our data and traffic as it could easily fall into the wrong hands. This is where VPNs come in. Virtual Private Networks allow users to transmit their data safely and securely over the internet. They are not, however, the same as a private network. When you use a VPN you are still sharing data over a public network (the internet) but it is ‘virtually private’ because the data and traffic is encrypted. If someone manages to take control of your data while you are using a VPN they will not able to understand or do anything with it. VPNs can be particularly useful to businesses that may need to connect to customers, employees and different companies in a secure way.

One of the most common types of VPN is a remote-access VPN, which can also be known as a PPTP VPN. A PPTP VPN is one that utilises a ‘Point-to-Point Tunnelling Protocol’. It allows remote users to connect to a private network and is often used by remote employees to connect to their company’s network securely. This type of protocol uses the already established internet connection to connect to the VPN through the use of a logon and password. The user will generally have to install software on their computer in order to use this particular type of protocol.

IPsec is a protocol that is similar to PPTP, as it is good for remote access. IPsec is based on IP addresses; only ones that are allowed can access the network. It is based on software that is installed on a user’s computer …

Before starting a new Information Technology project, it is important to do everything possible to make sure it will be a success. It is exciting to thing about how a new application or system can improve productivity and reduce costs. It is also exciting to be responsible for putting in place something new, and imagining the positive comments and admiration from everyone else at the company. Since that is the goal, it is definitely worthwhile to put together a solid plan that takes everything into account for the entire project.

This process should actually start before budgeting for the new project. I have seen many customers who budget for a project, then when it comes time to start it and get quotes, they find out that they have severely underbudgeted the required upgrades, especially any new hardware and the accompanying professional services, and they have to reset expectations before they project even begins, or go back for more funds. Make sure this does not happen to you by laying a solid foundation for success.

The common factor in many upgrades that go sideways is that the organization assumes their systems are ready to go, when in fact the underlying data systems are in no way capable of supporting the requirements of the systems for the new project. A good way to prevent this type of mistake is to get a network capabilities assessment, and to determine what the additional network requirements of the new project are.

A network capabilities assessment is the best place to start before deploying any upgrades that make substantial use of the data network. Examples of these types of upgrades are a major application upgrade, Virtual Desktop deployment, video collaboration rollout, and of course a VoIP phone system upgrade. These are all application deployment that add …