Before considering a do-it-yourself VPN, you may want to explore what’s involved, because setting up, configuring, and managing a site-to-site VPN isn’t for the uninitiated. Even an experienced IT pro may discover nuances of security and networking they didn’t know existed, since these disciplines do truly require some pretty advanced and specialized skills.
What are the pitfalls of DIY-VPN and what
Assess Your VPN Options
- DIY. Depending on level of knowledge and skill, generalist IT staff may or may not have the security and networking skills to set up and troubleshoot your site-to-site VPN (or to do it properly). The question is: can you risk it if they don’t do something quite right? What’s more, if your IT staff are like most, they may find it difficult to add one more thing (albeit an important one) to an already full workload. A recent Infonetics research survey conducted in the UK showed that 25% of organizations have too few IT staff to support a VPN.
- Hire a Consultant. You can buy any hardware you may need for the new site(s) and hire IT consultants to set up your VPN. They may even be available to manage it, make any adjustments or changes, and so on, for a maintenance fee. Although a consultant with the right expertise is likely to get it right, this option can be very expensive and difficult to budget, between capital outlay for hardware and setup, and the operational expense of ongoing management.
- Outsource. You can also fully outsource your private networking to a provider like OneNet USA. With a managed service like OneNet USA, you get the benefit of handing over design, installation, configuration, public key infrastructure management, updates, and day-to-day operation to someone else. Networking experts are involved every step of the way, yet you get to retain your oversight. Expert support is included, and available 24/7/365.
Learn more about the challenges of VPN implementation courtesy of OneNet USA partner MegaPath.
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