Winner: Fiberlink Global Remote, Fiberlink Communications Corp., (800) LINK-NOW, (215) 793-6500. www.fiberlink.com
Once products or processes become commoditized, outsourcing can reduce both capital and management costs. VPN services are a prime example, and Fiberlink offers a flexible and cost-effective solution based on commercial off-the-shelf products, such as the Cisco VPN 3005 Concentrator. Fiberlink manages the configuration and policy changes required, while user authentication is back-ended to internal RADIUS or Microsoft Windows NT domains.
Fiberlink's top-tier service offering comes complete with Cisco SmartNet 24x7 service. Failed equipment is replaced within four hours, so downtime is limited. Although Fiberlink has only one NOC, it is fed by two points on an AT&T Sonet ring, and there is a third, to a Verizon Sonet connection. Moreover, in the event of a catastrophic network failure between the VPN gateways and the NOC, the Cisco VPN 3005 Concentrator will still operate normally.
Finalists:
AT&T Managed VPN Tunneling Services, AT&T Corp., (800) ATT-3199.
www.business.att.com
Aventail.Net Managed Services, Aventail Corp., (877) AVENTAIL, (206) 215-1111.
www.aventail.com