Internet based VPN services - what's available ?

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“Hi J..., Someday (and hopefully soon) several companies will figure out that using Internet based VPNs may solve several problems in a very cost-effective way. Managed Services is the logical way to go for small companies since it does not make sense to keep subject matter VPN experts on board for smaller companies. VPNs are the bloodlines for multi-office, inter-company, partner workflows and they must be managed properly. So I think your idea is a good call and developing an offering in this area does not suck. That being said, several companies called "Managed Security Services Providers - MSSPs" offer managed VPN services. (My current company being one of them). I am not sure about your definition about non-enterprise, but most of the MSSPs have solutions for SMB market. I have been working in MSSP market for the last 5 years. The usual suspects for MSSPs are, Telcos (e.g. BT, AT&T, Verizon, Orange, T-Systems etc), Global Outsourcing Providers (Wipro, HCL, Unisys, EDS etc..) , Security Vendors (Symantec, ISS/IBM, Specialists (Verisign, Cybertrust and Integralis) For go to market strategy you have 2 options on the low cost area. You either go with a vendor solution or develop your own. You have to be careful about low-cost of entry to market from the competitors. With vendor products (like Check Point, Juniper, Cisco, Fortinet, Nokia, Symantec) any company can come up with a solution but the solution will require a lot of CAPEX budget from the clients. SMBs usually do not like to pay in full in advance so it may make a sense to modify a Linux distro and deliver VPN solutions without paying to vendor, this may work since SMBs will not have ultra complex solutions. When you develop and deliver your own VPN solution you may have high margins. Managed Security Services is not just about products, I have written another long Q&A on linked in which might be helpful to build your service. http://www.linkedin.com/answers/technology/information-technology/information-security/TCH_ITS_ISC/13800-2070053 I also have several studies on why/when/how VPNs should be preferred over Telco WAN solutions. Let me know if you have any specific questions. Regards, - yinal ozkan”