THUS, one of the UK's leading providers of voice, data, Internet and contact centre services, has launched a new version of its IP-based VPN service, FlexiVPN, to make managed IP-VPN services more affordable for small companies.
The introduction of a further firewall, the Nokia IP30, not only reduces equipment costs, but also reduces the amount of management overheads required, which can generally cost up to 50% of the total cost of ownership, by up to 90 per cent. It also delivers flexibility as new sites can be added without increasing management costs. The service is currently available across either ADSL, ISDN or Leased Line access.
THUS's Flexi-VPN service enables an organisation to link its various locations - headquarters, branch offices and remote users - to THUS's national network which is connected, in turn, to the public Internet. It provides IP-based data connectivity, intranet and Internet services to organisations and can be far more cost-effective than a conventional leased line solution. The firewall installed at each of a customer's sites ensures that only authorised traffic enters the customer's IP-VPN and that private traffic is encrypted. The new service is managed centrally, reducing costs and increasing security company-wide.
"Secure data communications are increasingly important to business, yet we have seen too many smaller companies priced out of the managed IP-VPN market. Instead, they take unmanaged services at times that do not deliver the full benefits. It's ironic, because it is the smaller players with limited budgets that really need help with service management, as they simply don't have the resources to handle this in-house. " said Nigel Stevens, Product Director of THUS plc.
He continued, "We believe that by significantly reducing costs our new service will open the door to managed IP VPNs for a large number of companies that will benefit greatly from the increased security this delivers. Security breaches are not only costly, they can ruin a company's reputation and seriously damage business. Our customers can benefit from a proven technology and our many years of experience with IP-VPNs."
