A Virtual Private Network uses the Internet to connect branch offices, remote employees and business partners to your company's resources. It is a reliable way to maintain your company's privacy while streamlining operations, reducing costs and allowing for flexible network administration.

The key benefits of a VPN:

Lower Cost

VPN save money because they use the Internet - not costly leased lines - to transmit information to and from authorized users. Prior to VPN, many companies with remote offices communicated through Wide Area Networks (WANs), or by having remote workers make long distance calls to connect to the main office server. Both can be expensive propositions. WANs require establishing dedicated - and inflexible - leased lines between various business locations, which can be costly or impractical for smaller offices.

Improved Communications

A VPN provides a robust level of connectivity comparable to a WAN. Remote offices, mobile employees, clients, vendors, telecommuters and even international business partners can use a VPN to access information on a company's network. This level of interconnectivity allows for a more effective flow of information between a large number of people. The VPN provides access to both extranets and wide-area intranets, which opens the door for improved client service, vendor support and company communications. Customers can order equipment over the VPN. Suppliers can check on orders electronically. Employees can collaborate on project documents.

Increased flexibility

With a VPN, customers, suppliers and remote users can be added to the network easily and quickly. Some VPN solutions simplify the process of administering the network by allowing the system's manager to implement changes from any desktop computer. nce the equipment is installed, the company simply signs up with a service provider that activates the network by giving the company a slice of its bandwidth. This is much easier than establishing a WAN, which must be designed, built and managed by the company that creates it. VPN also easily adapt to a company's growth. These systems can connect 25 people as easily as 2,000.

Security and Reliability

VPN maintain privacy through the use of tunneling protocols and standard security procedures. A secure VPN encrypts data before it travels through the public network and decrypts it at the receiving end. The encrypted information travels through a secure "tunnel" that connects to a company's gateway. The gateway then identifies the remote user and lets the user access only the information he or she is authorized to receive.

A secure VPN can be used for the authorization of orders from suppliers, the forwarding of revised legal documents and many other confidential business processes. Recent improvements in VPN technology have also increased the system's reliability. Many service providers will guarantee 99% VPN uptime and will offer credits for unanticipated outages.