A VPN is a virtual private network. What does that mean? Well basically it means you can create a private network (or tunnel) between two different points, virtually, that is without the need to run physical wires. Now you are probably still wondering what that means, well…

Imagine two different physical sites, for example a headquarters, and a branch office, both of these sites belong to the same company, and therefore utilize the same resources (e-mail, file sharing, document collaboration). However due to the fact that the two offices are in two physically separate locations there are only two main ways of connecting them in order to facilitate this sharing of resources. The first method, and most often the prohibitively expensive method is to put in place a direct communications link between the two offices (for example T1, or ISDN service, if you don’t know what these are then just know that they are very expensive). The second method to connect to the two offices would be to utilize a VPN over a regular Internet connection (like ADSL or Cable). This would provide a secure channel across the Internet directly to the other office location, without the need for a dedicated communications link. This not only means you save money over the long term, but if you need to modify the VPN between the offices it is just a matter of reconfiguring the link, and not having to phone up your ISP to make hardware configuration changes.

In addition to connecting multiple sites together a VPN can also be used to dynamically connect remote users to the corporate network, I say dynamically because the VPN connection (tunnel) would only be established when a user wants to connect to the office, and could be established anywhere where there is an Internet connection. This means that employees can work effortlessly from home (or anywhere else) and still have access to the same company resources as if they were physically connected in the office.

So now that you are familiar with the basic concepts of a VPN, why should you want one? One word, productivity, being able to work remotely is fast becoming the standard for any corporation simply because it is a guaranteed way to increase employee productivity. Being able to work from home is not only less stressful than being in the office, but it also allows for employees to finish up work without having to stay late at the office, because really, who likes to stay late at the office?