Remote Access Solutions

Remote Access Solutions- helplful information

With an increasingly mobile workforce, the need to provide remote and mobile workers with access to email, applications and data on the company network is crucial for many businesses.

Technologies such as VPNs and Terminal Service offer business of all sizes a secure way to connect thier remote and mobile users, giving them access to applications and data as if they were actually in the office. The boost to productivity, efficiency and customer service gained can quickly outwiegh the initial setup costs.

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Understanding Remote Access Solutions

While remote access solutions can vary greatly in their complexity and underlying technologies, there are generally three primary types:

Virtual Private Network:  VPNs utilise a public telecommunications network, such as the Internet, to establish full network connectivity between multiple sites and remote user-to-site.

Terminal Services (client/server): Also referred to as thin-client/server-based computing, this is a solution that has applications running on servers rather than client devices (PCs and notebooks). While it appears to the user as if the application is actually running on their desktop device, all they’re really seeing is a “reflection” generated by the server.

Remote Desktop Connection: Similar in concept to Terminal Services (above), a remote desktop connection provides the user with the ability to connect remotely to their work computers and access their applications and files. While the user has a full and rich desktop experience, they are actually seeing an image of their work computer’s screen.

Business benefits of Secure Remote Access

Remote access solutions can afford businesses numerous benefits, such as:

• increased productivity for work-from-home or mobile workers
• cost-savings through using inexpensive thin-clients as opposed to standalone PCs in a terminal services environment
• anywhere, anytime access to work applications and data
• greater control and savings related to software licences.