SMB Networks / Managing Remote Users /

Telework spurs technology innovation

By Toni Kistner
Net.Worker, 07/23/01

As press and pundits continue to debate whether telework is the hottest thing or old hat, a handful of technology companies are busy building innovative products that make remote working easier - seamless, even. The latest to come along is Netilla Virtual Office.

Announced today, Netilla lets network managers and small businesses Web-enable network applications for access by remote workers via a Web browser. Sold through value-added resellers and system integrators, the Netilla Virtual Office is a hardware box that sits on the company LAN and works in conjunction with Microsoft Windows 2000 Terminal Server to make specified network applications available in their entirety (not just a Web client version) and in real time from any Internet-connected PC. While the Netilla box sits on your network, the VAR manages it for you.

One Netilla box supports about 40 simultaneous remote users. It uses 128-bit SSL security and includes an adaptive stateful inspection firewall, a Web server, and Web-based e-mail, file sharing and extranet features. The service costs $600 per month for 10 users, which doesn't include the license fee for Terminal Server, the cost of the application server, or the initial cost of set up, which costs in the $2,000-to-$3,000 range, depending on your company's needs. With the system in place, users log on to an internal portal page that displays the applications they're permitted to access, then run them remotely from the server. What about performance? I tested out the demo version using a 34K bits/sec dial-up connection; while Goldmine took 20 seconds to load, once it did, I could navigate the program as if it were sitting on my desktop.

Since February, Somerset, N.J.-based Netilla has been beta testing the service with 30 system integrators, and this June, the company announced its first nationwide distributor Unique Co-Operative Solutions, which provides thin-client solutions to 3,500 resellers.

Joe Cameron, president of CRM systems integrator StarCare Systems, uses Netilla to remotely manage his company's servers and demonstrate their products to potential customers.

"We send them an e-mail with a link to the Netilla demo and say go run our application remotely. Then they come back and say, 'Hey, how is this working? It isn't a Web Ex or Placeware broadcast, this is live�' " Now, Cameron says, they're building their customers CRM applications that are remotely accessible via Netilla.

Last year, it looked like small businesses would be getting their remote access services from VPN service providers. But Netilla CEO Reggie Best says that since VPN installations require much ongoing maintenance, service providers have begun focusing exclusively on large clients. This leaves an opportunity for VARs, which are already accustomed to providing ongoing support and training to small customers, to expand their offerings with services like Netilla. While Best says Netilla is best viewed as a compliment to virtual private networks, it offers some distinct advantages for smaller companies. There's no client software to load, and network managers can allow users access to only those applications they need. Netilla also makes it easy for companies to set up extranets and allow partners to access specific network applications.

"With a VPN, users become a full peer on the network. A Web-based approach provides a sandbox for users to play in," Best explains. "And once you have the VPN, you still have the problem of deploying applications to each remote desktop - and then managing them."