Data safety goes to top of class
Isle of Wight College tackles information security needs with installation of SSL VPN
The demand for Secure Socket Layer (SSL) VPNs will continue to grow, according to security VAR Network Alliance and networking vendor Juniper Networks.
Both firms made the claim after Network Alliance installed Juniper's Secure Access 1000 series SSL VPN product last month at the sprawling campus of the Isle of Wight College.
The college, which spans the island with a central campus and four outlying sites, needed to provide its staff with a secure remote working facility that did not breach the data protection act, because of the amount of student information held in its database.
Rosie Quelch, network manager at the Isle of Wight College, said the installation had brought "considerable benefits".
"We have always had requirement for people to work remotely but fell foul of data protection issues and had no way of configuring our FTP drives. Our entire system was very bitty."
She added that the solution from Network Alliance allows the college to bundle all of the resources the staff need onto one interface and log on using one ID. It is also valuable because it twins with colleges in the Far East.
"In the past, staff had to carry laptops around, which was a security issue in itself. Now they can just log on at an internet cafe," Quelch added.
Adam Woolhouse, managing director of Network Alliance, said the installation, for an undisclosed amount, took about four weeks from start to finish.
"The reason why there is massive growth in this market is because, in the past, people were connected via modems and were limited either by costs or by the difficulty of connecting. Now, because so many people have ADSL in their homes, more are able to work remotely," he said.
Anton Grashion, security portfolio manager at Juniper, which acquired security vendor NetScreen last year (CRN, 16 February), said: "We see [SSL VPNs] as a massive growth area; partners such as Network Alliance operate as extensions of our salesforce. It identifies opportunities and carries out installations. Our channel understands the market and identifies the gaps."