A Virtual Private Network or VPN is an evolving communication technology that has the capability to greatly enhance the 'out-of-office' business experience. It is possible for a secure connection to be established between two or more sites so that internal network resources can be shared between users.

Remote workers have the ability to seamlessly connect into the office network to receive their email or access files held on the company's servers - it is even possible for roaming users to print to the office printers or extend the office Voice over IP phone system so that a users extension can ring anywhere in the world!

Furthermore, larger organisations can utilise VPN technology to provide a secure, high-speed link between multiple sites and at a fraction of the cost of the leased-line alternative, anywhere in the world.
VPN's utilise standard public internet connections - either dial-up or preferably, broadband DSL connections. However the connection is made secure by establishing a 'tunnel' across the internet. Network data is first encrypted and transmitted through the secure tunnel to the receiving station where it is decrypted.

For a site-to-site VPN the connection is made between two VPN-enabled firewalls. This allows both sites to share resources and seamlessly access the entire network. Remote workers can access the office data and voice networks from anywhere in the world through a standard Internet connection and a piece of code, known as the VPN-client.
Company network administrators retain complete control over the list of authorised users and their connections into the local network; ensuring that the integrity of corporate data is maintained at all times.