Remote Access

Access from anywhere, anytime

With fiber optics and the Internet, today's businesses are literally moving at the speed of light. To keep up, your employees need the ability to access your office network and files from anywhere, at any time of day or night. Benefits include reduced travel costs, faster turnaround for your clients, increased staff loyalty as a result of flexible schedules, and additional billing and production from staff.

Remote control

Remote control software permits offsite employees to control a computer at their office via the Internet. Keystrokes and mouse movements are sent to the office machine, which runs the requested programs and sends the resulting screens back to the user's remote machine for display. Only screen information is sent back and forth, not actual data files.

Because little information passes between the remote and office machines, and because the office machine does all the real work, remote control is the solution of choice for manipulating large amounts of data using slow connections.

The biggest benefit of remote control is that you install applications, such as database programs and word processing programs, on only one machine in the office-you don't have to install them (and maintain them) on the far-flung machines of remote users. This greatly simplifies and reduces the costs of network management.

Virtual Private Networks

A Virtual Private Network (VPNs) connects multiple locations and remote users in a single network. Because it uses the Internet, a VPN connection is usually considerably less expensive than the dedicated lines it replaces.

When you use a VPN, the remote machine is actually logged into your network, just as if it were in the office. Because of the speed restrictions of Internet connections, VPN connections are ideal for applications that transfer small amounts of data to the workstation or that send data to the workstation for later offline use. Examples of the latter include offline mail access, Palm/Pocket PC synchronization, and file transfer of documents for offline editing.

To ensure security, data traveling through a VPN tunnel is encrypted prior to being sent through the public network, and decrypted at the receiving end. NPI uses industry-leading encryption solutions to protect the confidentiality and integrity of your data.

Application-specific options

NPI also installs and configures application specific-remote access options available in software such as Exchange. Some programs offer their own remote access capability, via either phone lines or Internet connections. For example, many e-mail systems offer offline synchronization, Web access, and/or remote retrieval of mail. Such systems are often very convenient to use, and are ideal when the requirement is to access just a single application. Our technicians will make sure that your application-specific remote communications are configured correctly for your business needs.

Security is not automatic

Remote access is not automatically secure. Software applications and some remote access products are not designed with security in mind, and for that reason, we may recommend that they be used in conjunction with a VPN.

To make sure that VPN funnels don't become back doors into your central network, we combine your VPN with the proper firewall, authentication, and workstation configuration for your environment and security requirements.

At NPI, we are security specialists. All our services are built around security. We are the most experienced and certified security group in the region, and we will ensure that your remote access solution is bulletproof.

Remote access products we support:

  • Citrix Presentation Server
  • Netscreen VPN
  • Cisco VPN
  • Check Point/Nokia VPN
  • Microsoft Terminal Services
  • Symantec pcAnywhere
  • Secure Web access and portals to many applications

Our areas of expertise

NPI's remote access experts have many years of Internet communication experience. We have successfully specified and configured dozens of remote access products. Our technicians hold security certifications from Check Point, Cisco, and Netscreen, the industry's dominant VPN manufacturers. We are certified Citrix and Microsoft resellers, and we have installed remote access solutions for clients in industries as varied as banking and public utilities.