Issue TOC Print full article Print this page Download as PDF E-Mail this URL Flame the author     In this article Introduction Fiberlink Communications Corp. Managed Service for Fiberlink Global Remote Other Products Reviewed Managed VPN Services Real World Requirement Doing Business Safely Online Only: Our Original VPN ASP Request for Proposal Full Responses to RFIs Report Card

Providing secure network access to users connecting over the Internet is a necessity, and VPNs are increasingly the method of choice. However, management can be a headache. In a recent In-Stat/MDR study of 404 LAN managers, 73.4 percent said manageability was the most crucial consideration. Second place? Compatibility. (See InternetWeek article, "Manageability, Compatibility Top VPN Selection Criteria.")

If VPNs are sucking up too much of your precious time, consider outsourcing. We sent an RFP asking for managed VPN services for 1,000 users, and AT&T, Aventail, Fiberlink Communications Corp. and OpenReach participated in our tests (see the full responses). Their feature sets--except for OS support--are comparable. If you don't use Microsoft Windows across the board, you'll want to consider Fiberlink's service, which supports multiple OSs via Cisco's Unity Client. In fact, the Fiberlink service gets our bid thanks to its almost preternaturally low price.