Title: Remote-But Connected: How to Link All Your Far-Flung Computers to the Office
Abstract: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * YOUR EMPLOYEES' COMPUTER CONNECTIONS with the office can be as fast and reliable when they're traveling or working in a remote location as when they're in the office, and you can realize that goal without breaking your budget, compromising security or waiting for tomorrow's technology. * THE SIMPLEST AND MOST ECONOMICAL way is to tap into the Internet, using a national dial-up Internet service provider (ISP). Since ISPs offer convenient dial-up access to the Internet via local telephone numbers in most parts of the country, an Internet connection would eliminate expensive long-distance toll charges. * REMOTE WORKERS CAN CHOOSE FROM several communication methods: the traditional voice telephone line, an integrated services digital network (ISDN), a high-speed phone line, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a cable modem and a two-way satellite. Each of these services can be enhanced with wireless service. * EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY USE a dial-up link--you risk being hacked. Either hardware or software firewalls can protect a single computer or an entire network from break-ins. Staffers who travel should always carry their own portable firewalls. * THE NEXT LINK IN THE SYSTEM--making the computers capable of talking to each other--can be satisfied by any of three approaches: a virtual private network, a Citrix MetaFrame Server or a Microsoft Terminal Server. Would you like your employees to be able to remotely access your office computer no matter where they are, without a significant loss of speed or compromising security--and all this without breaking your budget or waiting for tomorrow's technology? Read on, and you'll discover how it can be done. Let's assume you want everyone on your staff to be able to work from anywhere in the country--from home, a hotel or a client site. There are many ways to achieve this, but the simplest and most economical method is to tap into the Internet with a national dial-up Internet service provider (ISP) such as Earthlink, CompuServe, AT&T or Microsoft Network. Although the most convenient way to get everyone's computer linked would be to use your own dial-up telephone connection--where anyone on your staff can just call directly into the office on a dedicated line--that approach would be very expensive. Not only would the long-distance charges be prohibitive but you would need to set up many phone lines--at least one for every 16 users. THE TRAVELING USER Since national ISPs offer dial-up access to the Internet via local telephone numbers in most parts of the country, an ISP Internet connection would eliminate toll charges. ISPs cost between $20 and $30 a month for unlimited use. For the traveling staffer the only drawback would be speed: Such connections would likely be at a theoretical maximum transmission rate of 56 kilobytes per second (Kbps), which typically translates to an effective speed of between 33 and 45 Kbps. That rate is acceptable for transmission of most office data, but as you shall see, much faster options are available for those who work outside the office but from fixed locations. If a member of your staff happens to be working at a rural location that lacks local ISP access, you can rent a toll-free number for about $6 an hour. Staffers working out of hotels certainly can connect to an ISP via regular phone lines, but many hotels have recently added an extra service: the option of broadband (the techie term for high-speed capability) access to the Internet--rates that are two to three times that of regular phone lines. The fee for such a service is about $10 a day, and if your staff frequents a hotel, consider negotiating a discounted annual fee. THE AT-HOME USER So far so good for the traveling staffers. What about the telecommuters who work from home or from some fixed location outside the office? They have these options: * Traditional voice telephone line. …
Publication Year: 2002
Publication Date: 2002-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 3
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