How To Manage Business Remotely

The need to access information and manage business remotely include the following:

• Travel on business, attend conferences/trade shows, or visit key suppliers and mantain productivity.
  
• Give effective live demonstrations such as sales presentations to prospective customers when traveling.
  
• Work remotely from home when it's difficult to drive into the office.
  
• Work remotely from home and improve time with family by reducing travel time.
  

In short, business owners and employees may need to access information because they want to maintain contact with the office from anywhere.

The solution to the above problems is called "remote access". Remote access is the process of accessing "items" on your office network from a location outside of your network. The problems above all show examples of resources (servers, files, email) that can be accessed remotely.

There are several types of remote access available and business owners need to find out which type of remote access is needed and suits them best.

Access to email only

You can have access to email through the following:

• Microsoft Exchange Server - access email, voice mail plus calendars, and contacts from a variety of clients and devices such as Outlook Web Access, Outlook Mobile, Outlook Voice Access, Outlook on the Desktop and Outlook Anywhere .
  
• Exchange ActiveSync in Microsoft Exchange Server - access email plus schedules, contacts, tasks lists, and other Exchange Server mailbox data through mobile devices such as cell phones and PDAs.
  
• POP3 or IMAP4 - POP3 and IMAP4 are email access protocols that almost any email program can use to connect to a mail server on your office network. You can use any mail server for this and it does not require Microsoft Exchange.
  

Access to files most normally used on your computer

You can "publish" a web server containing files you most usually use and access them through the internet.

Connect to office computer and have access to all the information on your office network; just like "being there".

• You can access all information (email, files, software and any resource) through a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN allows you to connect to your office and have you computer become part of the network in the same way as it would be if you were to plug the laptop computer into one of the hubs or switches on your network.
  
• Remote Desktop Access (RDA) software applications also allow remote access to computers on your office network.
  

A well-designed VPN or RDA should have features such as security, reliability, scalability, network management and policy management.

To run a business efficiently, a business owner would need to have access, not only to email and files most commonly used on the computer but more importantly to the entire information (email, files, software and any resource) on the office network. To this end, the remote access solution for business owners comes down to choosing between VPN and RDA.

Basically, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a private network that uses a public network (usually the Internet) to connect remote sites or users together. Instead of using a dedicated, real-world connection such as leased line, a VPN uses "virtual" connections routed through the Internet from the company's private network to the remote site or employee.

Remote Access VPN
Remote access, also called a virtual private dial-up network (VPDN), is a user-to-LAN connection utilized by a company that has employees who need to connect to the private network from various remote locations. Usually, a corporation that wants to establish a large remote-access VPN will outsource to an enterprise service provider (ESP). The ESP sets up a network access server (NAS) and supplies the remote users with desktop client software for their computers. The telecommuters can then dial a toll-free number to reach the NAS and use their VPN client software to access the corporate network.

Remote-access VPNs permit secure, encrypted connections between a company's private network and remote users through a third-party service provider.

Site-to-Site VPN
Through the use of dedicated equipment and large-scale encryption, a company can link multiple fixed sites over a public network such as the Internet. Site-to-site VPNs can be one of two types:

• Intranet - If a company has one or more remote locations that they want to connect in a single private network, they can make an intranet VPN to connect LAN to LAN.
  
• Extranet - When a company has a close relationship with another company (for example, a partner, supplier or customer), they can construct an extranet VPN that joins LAN to LAN, and that lets all of the various companies to work in a shared environment.
  

A well-designed VPN uses several methods for keeping a connection and data secure - firewalls, encryption, IPSec, AAA server.

Depending on the type of VPN (remote-access or site-to-site), you will require to put in place certain components to build your VPN. These might include:

• Computer software client for each remote user
  
• Dedicated hardware such as a VPN concentrator or secure PIX firewall
  
• Dedicated VPN server for dial-up services
  
• Network Access Server) (NAS) used by service provider for remote-user VPN access
  
• VPN network and policy-management center
  

• Build long-distance and/or secured network connections
  
• Eliminate the need for costly long-distance leased lines
  
• No need to rent network capacity such as T1 lines to attain full, secured connectivity between office locations. With a VPN, you use public
  
• Reducing long-distance telephone charges
  
• Reduce transit time and transportation costs for remote users
  
• Provide telecommuter support
  
• Improve productivity
  
• Network infrastructure including the Internet to make these connections.
  
• Provide global networking opportunities
  
• Provide faster ROI (return on investment) than traditional Wide Area Network
  

• VPNs need detailed understanding of network security issues and careful installation / configuration to ensure sufficient protection on a public network like the Internet.
  
• The reliability and performance of an Internet-based VPN is not under an organization's direct control. Instead, the solution relies on an ISP and their quality of service.
  
• Historically, VPN products and solutions from different vendors have not always been compatible due to issues with VPN technology standards. Attempting to mix and match equipment may cause technical problems, and using equipment from one provider may not give as great a cost savings. Because there is no widely accepted standard for implementing a VPN, many companies have developed turn-key solutions on their own.
  

For small business owners additional limitations include:

• Lack of IT department.
  
• Technlogy might be complex for owners to handle on their own.
  
• Need to outsource installation and maintenance of hardware and software through third parties which might lead to higher costs.
  

In summary, a VPN is not a cost-effective remote access solution for most small business owners. Using Remote Desktop Access (RDA) software application that does not have the above limitations could be the solution.

With this solution a software application is used. It allows a user to gain control over another computer (its keyboard, video monitor and mouse) through an internet connection. Users connect and logon to an office network and use their computers with access to all the information (email, files, software and any resource) as if they were sitting in the office and locally connected. Actual data processing takes place on the machine being accessed, with screen images and keystrokes taking place on the remote computer.

The only requirement is that the remote office computer have the RDA software installed and running. Technical support and maintenance is handled by the company that sells the software.

RDA uses encryption method to keep a connection and data secure.
This remote access solution only needs software to be installed.

Same as what you get with a VPN. However additional RDA benefits include:

• Simplicity
  
• Lower cost
  
• No additional hardware
  
• Only need to install software on office computers
  
• Technical support and maintenance handled by the company that sells the software.
  

The above additional RDA benefits are important especially for small business owners and RDA is a cost-effective remote access solution.

Citrix's GoToMyPC pioneered remote desktop access software and is the market leader. Even though GoToMyPC service now has lots of competitors (such as MyWebEx, LogMeIn, RemotePC, I'm InTouch, BeInSync, PCNow, RealVNC) its centralized management, and other features that are tough to beat help it retain its market-leading status.

GoToMyPC Pro is a secure remote access solution for small businesses. It allows you and your employees to remotely access your computers from any web-enabled computer in the world. No additional software required. You can administer remote access of multiple employees between 2 and 20 computers. Pricing is based on monthly and annual subscriptions.

How GoToMyPC Pro Compares With Other Solutions

• Compared to other solutions, GoToMyPC Pro is more secure with substantially stronger encryption; is much easier to scale; has faster performance; and is far simpler to implement, manage and support.
  
• The online centralized administration and reporting features which competitors don't have, make it easy to add and delete employees and monitor real-time usage.
  
• Although other providers may offer limited web-based remote access options, GoToMyPC Pro provides the only fully secure, easy-to-implement and cost-effective service.
  

Key Benefits

• Easy to deploy and use - quickly provide computer access to yourself and your employees
  
• Maintain contact with the office from anywhere
  
• Reduce travel costs and increase productivity
  
• Easily collaborate, demonstrate or provide remote help
  
• Manage and administer remote computers between 2 and 20
  
• Intuitive and user friendly - no training or support required
  
• Compatible with existing IT infrastructure-no system or architecture modifications required
  
• Improve time with family and quality of life
  
• Increase customer satisfaction and responsiveness
  
• Free software and service upgrades
  
• Free technical support and maintenance - available 24/7
  
• Central administration to easily add, remove, suspend or switch users
  
• Increase employee satisfaction
  
• Retain key employees through flexible work
  
• Built-in security features ensure data confidentiality
  
• Experience total security, flexibility and scalability
  

To manage business remotely, small business owners and employees require an easy and secure way to access their computers while traveling for business or while away from the office. The key requirement is access to email, files, software or any other information from any web-enabled device anywhere in the world.

The solution to this remote access need, is attained through Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology and Remote Desktop Access (RDA) software applications which enable remote access to computers on office networks. Both VPN and RDA offer benefits which include maintaining contact with the office from anywhere, improved productivity and reduced travel costs.

Using Remote Desktop Access (RDA) software application such as GoToMyPC Pro offers a cost-effective remote access solution for most small business owners. Its easy, inexpensive and only needs software installation. On the other hand, VPNs have limitations for small business owners. They are complex and require installation of hardware and software through costly third parties. In addition, VPN products and solutions lack standards which sometimes cause technical problems even for big companies.