One of the biggest challenges many companies face is having users that work off-site and need to connect to the Internet. The users may be at a construction site, performing an accounting audit at a customer site, working from a hotel or conference center, or be in some other location. The temptation is to allow the users to connect through a WiFi hotspot or even plug into someone else’s network. The dangers are huge if the remote network infects your user’s computer or if your user gets accused of infecting the remote network.

Many organizations are using mobile wireless broadband connections from Sprint, Verizon, or AT&T for example.  The speed on the services is amazing - frequently faster than hotel guest networks. But what if you have three users that need to be away from the office working together? Instead of buying 3 of the $60 per month accounts, get a single mobile broadband router. That way, just one $60/month account can provide access to your entire remote workgroup. Check out www.cradlepoint.com - I own the MBR1000 and it is a slick device. I can plug in my Sprint or AT&T data card devices. The router can even be used at an office to provide automatic fail-over to your data card if your office Internet connection goes down - thus allowing your company to stay online during an Internet connection failure! The speed will be slower, but at least your users can still send and receive e-mail. If you have mobile workgroups, this may solve your remote connectivity issues and, if used properly, can enhance your security as well.

Posted by Mike Foster on April 20th, 2008 in Best Practices, IT Security, Technology.

Tags: access, broadband, connectivity, Internet, mobile, portable, remote, router, team