Telecommunications Essentials

VPNs

A big driver of interest in VPNs is that customers increasingly need to communicate with people outside their enterprise, not just those inside the enterprise. As mentioned in Chapter 6, “Data Communications Basics,” in the 1980s, about 80% of the information that was used within a given address of a business came from within that address. Only 20% was exchanged outside the walls of that location. Today, the relationship has reversed. As much as 80% of information exchanged is with points outside a given business address.

Another reason for interest in VPNs is that customers want to quickly and securely change their access points and needs as changes occur in their businesses. Many strategic alliances and partnerships require companies to ...