Mobility XE: Your Only Remote-Access VPN Seven Key Advantages to Consider

Transcription

1 Mobility XE: Your Only Remote-Access VPN Seven Key Advantages to Consider

2 Executive Summary Netmotion Wireless Mobility XE is used by over 2000 organizations around the world to enhance the productivity and security of mobile field workers. For organizations with mobile employees such as U.S. Foodservice, Amica Insurance, Allina Home Care, Southeast Water and Comcast, who require reliable and secure connectivity back to the enterprise every day in order to get their job done, Mobility XE is critical to the success of their deployments. Because Mobility XE is so perfectly matched to these mobile workers, it is easy to overlook the benefits of using Mobility XE for other remote access needs as well. This paper highlights the benefits of using Mobility XE for telecommuters, executives and other remote access employees for improving productivity, reducing the costs of providing remote access for the organization and enhancing security. Using Mobility XE for Remote Access In mobile deployments, the Mobility XE mobile VPN is critical infrastructure they simply cannot function without it. The table below illustrates the four different types of workers who require some form of remote access. The Mobile Worker is the traditional user of a Mobile VPN. The other types of remoteaccess workers who would benefit from a Mobile VPN are Telecommuters and Executive/Road Warriors. Telecommuters are nonroamers who connect via a home network but still demand corporate IT support. Executive/Road Warriors may connect over a wide variety of networks, but do not access their applications continuously they typically log on, use the applications, and log off. Both groups benefit from the seamless experience and simplified, straightforward connectivity offered by Mobility XE. From the IT standpoint, using Mobility XE for these remote workers is more efficient than maintaining a separate, dedicated SSL-VPN appliance or managing IPsec connections. The client software is easy to distribute and maintain, and you ll manage all your mobile and remote workers via the same central console. Regardless of access scenario, you ll boost their productivity while minimizing the burden on your IT staff. Mobility XE for Remote-Access White Paper Page 2

3 Seven Key Considerations Here are seven ways NetMotion Wireless Mobility XE can improve remote-worker access. 1 Users get a seamless, transparent experience. Mobility XE provides a seamless experience, just like a desktop machine on a wired network. It runs unobtrusively, as a service, and handles the complexities of remote connections without user intervention. Users get a single sign-on, and can access corporate applications just as they do at the office. There is no need to navigate through U.S. Foodservice Replaces Conventional VPN with Mobility XE Users of this company s existing SSL-VPN were suffering from network disconnects that impacted productivity and generated many trouble tickets. Replacing it with the Mobility XE mobile VPN eliminated the connectivity problems, resulting in a productivity gain estimated at more than a million worker hours per year. Before it was difficult to get connected to the field. Now you just open your laptop and within seconds you re connected. There s no user intervention required, they just turn on their laptops and it works - Daniel Corcoran, Manager of Client Services multiple, separate logins for launching the VPN and connecting to various networks. Users enjoy the same transparent experience whether using a desktop machine from home, a notebook on the road, or a smartphone or other handheld. And when remote workers access cellular networks, the QoS features, compression and link optimizations let them use those connections with a familiar experience, similar to what they encounter with a higher-speed network. The same application session persistence that is the hallmark of Mobility XE is a boon for remote workers who might be working on marginal network connections or just don t want to bother with logging on and off. They can keep their applications open while driving from home to their office; or suspend their laptop to preserve battery life, open it up, and resume working right where they left off. Even telecommuters with cable connections or those who use consumergrade wireless equipment within their home networks will benefit from the more reliable connections and application access with Mobility XE. The result is happier and more productive employees. 2 You'll cut down on the number of help desk calls. Deploying Mobility XE greatly reduces the number of calls concerning remote-access support issues. By contrast, conventional SSL-based remote access solutions present all kinds of potential flash points, from multiple network logins to difficult application-compatibility problems which require assistance from a knowledgeable troubleshooter. One NetMotion customer a major medical center reported that its SSL remote-access solution was responsible Yes - reduction in trouble tickets No change in trouble tickets Don't know 40% of respondents reported deploying Mobility XE decreased the number of trouble tickets. (Utility company survey, 2010) Mobility XE for Remote-Access White Paper Page 3

4 for about 40% of its total help-desk support, with an average cost of $40 per trouble ticket handled. After deploying Mobility XE, these calls were virtually eliminated resulting in significant savings. 3 Users can't bypass your security measures. If you have corporate-issued devices that you only want used for authorized purposes, you can lock down Mobility XE on the client so that it cannot be bypassed, and all traffic must flow through the secure VPN tunnel. All traffic from the device is subject to the same border-security measures that protect your internal network. Result? Remote-access security that s tighter and far easier to manage. Cellular Users Carrier Network Router All general-internet traffic to/from remote devices passes through and is protected by corporate firewall Internet Hotspot Users Home Workers ` WLAN Router DSL or Cable Modem Locked-down devices ensure that all traffic passes through VPN tunnel ISP Network Firewall Mobility XE Server Tunnel secures entire datapath from remote device to Mobility server, protecting corporate resources Trusted Firewall Enterprise Resources Even if you allow traffic to flow outside the VPN and access the general Internet, you can still use the Policy Management module to restrict access by individual applications, by users, or over specific networks. You can also use the Mobile NAC module to ensure that anitivirus signatures are up-to-date, keep an infected machine from accessing your network, and even use policies to remediate the security shortcoming automatically. 4 You ll make better use of VoIP, webcams and streaming technologies. If you re using streaming media or Unified Communications to tie your employees together, the QoS and Packet Loss Recovery (PLR) features available through Mobility XE make those communications more reliable. Prioritizing application use of bandwidth using QoS prevents non time-critical packets from interfering with real-time communications. The PLR feature allows these real-time Insurance Adjusters Benefit from QoS Capabilities Throughout 13 states, adjusters for Grange Insurance not only need to access estimating and claims-handling applications, but also frequently transfer photographs and other large data files to document damage. Through Mobility XE, adjusters have priority real-time access to their claims applications, and are able to transmit large files while on the road between appointments. Our workers need a stable and reliable environment with constant access to their applications, no matter the location. With NetMotion we are able to ensure our consistent performance in and out of coverage areas. - Butch Knowlton, Manager of Claims Projects & Bus. Analysis Mobility XE for Remote-Access White Paper Page 4

5 applications to continue to work with packet loss rates as high as 50%. This is especially important when using video conferencing, audio conferencing or other technologies for virtual meetings. It can make a noticeable improvement even on reliable home broadband connections. On cellular data networks that are subject to dropped packets, latency and jitter, prioritization and packet-loss recovery techniques are even more essential. With Mobility XE, you can support these real-time applications without modifying your existing infrastructure, or distributing additional hardware. 5 You get visibility, visibility, and more visibility. Because Mobility XE is a full application proxy, it captures an extraordinary amount of detail about the users, devices, network connections and individual applications that access the remote-access infrastructure. The Analytics Module reports on this activity, so you can see who is accessing your networks, how they are connecting, and what applications are running. In addition to performance related information, you can also detect and be alerted to security related events such as when a pattern of failed logins indicate that a device may have been stolen. You will also know when users are having connection problems and even detect when a battery might be failing. This kind of detail is simply unavailable with conventional VPNs. By using this information in conjunction with policy management, you can not only see application use but control it. You can eliminate security holes and corporate resource use that is inappropriate and might impact productivity. This report, one of more than 20 included in the Analytics Module, shows how mobile and remote workers are connecting, and delivers a clear understanding of network usage patterns. If you re using third-party networks such as cellular data networks or Wi-Fi access plans, the Analytics Module lets you know how extensively those networks are used and how they re performing. You ll know if connections are being dropped, you re not getting the bandwidth expected, or the amount of traffic going over those networks isn t enough to justify your investment. The Analytics Module helps you improve the performance and security of providing remote access by giving you real visibility into how your devices, networks and users are performing. Mobility XE for Remote-Access White Paper Page 5

6 6 You can keep users off open Wi-Fi access points and other unsafe connections. Far too many unsophisticated users routinely treat unsecured access points as free Internet and help themselves, ignorant of the tremendous security exposure to both personal and corporate data. Even commercial, secured access points in airports and coffee shops put machines on a shared network and make them potentially vulnerable. By locking down the device and implementing policy controls, you can tightly restrict inbound and outbound access over Wi-Fi connections, only allow connections from known providers, or block Wi-Fi connections altogether. For supporting road warriors, adopting a national cellular data-access plan and routing connections through Mobility XE might be more affordable than buying Wi-Fi plans and paying for temporary service in hotels and airports. Potentially Medical Test Equipment Manufacturer Extends Reliable Access Beckman Coulter, a manufacturer of lab test equipment, has employees who are constantly on the road, accessing applications that were not designed for wireless network use. Installing Mobility XE solved the application reliability issues, increasing productivity for their sales engineers. Mobility was able to insulate us from many of the problems that occur in wireless computing From my perspective the setup was simple and it s straightforward to understand. - Jeff Silveira, Project Lead Consulting Firm Improves Productivity for Remote Workers Worldwide Diamond Management and Technology Consultants employs 600 business and technology experts around the world. Regardless of where they travel, NetMotion Mobility XE keeps their consultants, IT managers and R&D personnel reliably connected to the corporate network. Our consultants, who are often at client sites, rely on Mobility XE to stay connected. They can remain as productive on the road as they are at home or in the office. Our internal IT operations see real benefits in the ease of administration of our wireless networks. - Bill Economos, Senior Director this approach is far more secure, if your users have the typical security mindset which is to not think about security at all. 7 You can extend all of your corporate applications. Every application that runs over the TCP/IP protocol on your wired network will run over Mobility XE, without special measures or modifications. This includes general business applications, client/server applications, and Web applications that depend on JavaScript or plug-ins. Typically, these all require special agents or ActiveX controls to be installed on SSL-VPN clients if they work at all. Mobility XE makes extending every application straightforward and simple. Mobility XE for Remote-Access White Paper Page 6

7 Extending Mobile Access: Mobility XE vs. SSL-VPN Usability Help Desk and Support Security Enforcement Real-time Application Support Visibility Unsecured Access Points Connection Reliability Proactive Management Application Compatibility Mobility XE Mobile VPN Single sign-on; transparent experience similar to corporate desktop User-transparency and wired-network-like experience reduce number of support calls Users can t bypass security measures; access policies and NAC may be enforced at all times Traffic shaping prioritizes RTAs, and packet-lossrecovery preserves VoIP voice quality over cellular data connections Complete reporting on users, devices, applications and how they use networks Policies can restrict access via public Wi-Fi hotspots Application session persistence prevents crashes during network transitions or interruptions; QoS features and link optimization create transparent user experience Notifications capability delivers alerts of security problems, connection problems or other problems that might impact productivity Any application that runs on a wired network runs transparently over wireless SSL-VPN Requires separate login step, and user management of network connections Installation of agents and ActiveX controls, which require administrator access and greatly increase number of potential support issues Security enforced only while attempting to connect to corporate resources RTA applications require network extension with separate layer-3 tunnel; QoS support depends on vendor Generally, limited to connections and performance of the SSL appliance itself No ability to restrict access based on local-network connection Applications may survive transitions between network handoffs depending on vendor; but crash when network connectivity is broken Variable by vendor; no ability to detect users who aren t able to access a local network connection Dependent on agents and ActiveX controls; nonweb-based business applications are especially problematic Conclusion NetMotion Mobility XE has much to offer as a general-purpose VPN for remote access. It can enforce tighter security, deliver greater visibility, and result in a deployment that is far easier to support, manage and administer. "It's like logging in from your desk, whether you're [connected to] a home network or hotspot. NetMotion chooses the fastest connection. When you unplug and go into the field, you don't have to close your application or restart NetMotion. You can close your laptop, go home for the weekend, and on Monday [when you log in to your laptop], your connections will still be there." - Chris Kuner, Network Administrator, Hamilton County For more information: NetMotion Wireless, Inc. All rights reserved. NetMotion and NetMotion Mobility are registered trademarks, and Mobility XE, RoamableIPSec, InterNetwork Roaming, Best-Bandwidth Routing and Analytics Module are trademarks of NetMotion Wireless, Inc. Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Active Directory, ActiveSync, Internet Explorer, Windows Mobile, Windows Server, Windows XP, SQL Server, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and Windows Vista are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks, trade names or company names referenced herein are used for identification purposes only and are the property of their respective owners. NetMotion Wireless technology is protected by one or more of the following US Patents: 5,717,737; 6,198,920; 6,418,324; 6,546,425; 6,826,405; 6,981,047; 7,136,645; 7,293,107; 7,574,208; 7,602,782; 7,644,171; 7,778,260 and Canadian Patent 2,303,987. Other US and foreign patents pending. Mobility XE for Remote-Access White Paper Page 7