Remote Working Solutions for Business Continuity and Enhanced Mobility
Business mobility is about the experience of business-the ability to access the same applications you use in the office, both voice and data, from anywhere. Cisco® has designed a variety of remote working solutions that extend the resources of the office environment to employee homes or alternative work locations. Data, applications, network connections, and phone services are all made available to employees working remotely, whether to extend the day, to continue business during a business disruption, or simply to work away from the office. Employees can remain connected and productive, whether they're at home and using company-owned or employee-owned PCs, using public Internet terminals, or using Internet-enabled mobile phones. Cisco remote working solutions rely on existing network infrastructure and IT processes; comprehensive, integrated security; and simplified remote-user provisioning and management. Cisco teleworking solutions are customizable based on employee job roles.
Best Practices and Solutions for Remote Working
Cisco provides virtual private network (VPN) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) solutions that enable employees to recreate their office resources at their homes or other Internet-connected locations using a laptop or other network-accessible device, as shown in Figure 1. Using VPN services, employees can securely access data applications remotely, including e-mail, instant messaging, client/server applications, file servers, databases, and intranet services. The VPN connection can extend voicemail and employee office phone extensions directly to the employee's PC or to an IP phone.
Remote working solutions from Cisco include various combinations of data access, voice access, and high-speed transmission suitable for video conferencing and other bandwidth-intensive applications. Options include the Cisco Anywhere Office and the Cisco Enterprise-Class Teleworker solution.
The Cisco Anywhere Office
The Cisco Anywhere Office lets employees turn their company or personal laptops, public Internet terminals, or Internet-accessible wireless devices into fully functional offices from a remote location with an Internet connection. Built on Cisco remote-access VPN and Cisco Unified Communications technologies, the Anywhere Office enables access to company applications and network resources, including employee phone extensions and voicemail.
The building blocks of the Cisco Anywhere Office are:
• Remote-access VPN technology provides the connection to the company network. Both types of remote access-Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and IP Security (IPsec) are available from Cisco, integrated into a single platform, such as the Cisco ASA 5500 Series SSL/IPsec VPN Edition, or on Cisco routers. Cisco can help determine which VPN type to use for specific scenarios. Having both IPsec and SSL technology options allows businesses to customize their remote-access VPN solutions without any additional hardware or added management software.
• Security for remote workers is vital. Cisco remote-access VPN solutions allow for customization of employee access based on user device, location, endpoint security posture, and other factors. Additional security capabilities include full firewall, antivirus, anti-spyware, intrusion prevention, application control, and endpoint protection.
• Voice services extend the employee's office phone services to the remote location using Cisco IP Communicator, a Microsoft Windows-based application that allows calls to be made and received from a PC. Cisco IP Communicator provides the same features and manageability as a Cisco Unified IP Phone handset.
The Cisco Enterprise-Class Teleworker Solution
The Cisco Enterprise-Class Teleworker solution fully replicates the office environment at a fixed, remote location. This solution provides toll-quality voice and video services and secure, robust, and centrally managed always-on high-speed VPN connections. The only hardware you need to add to the Cisco Anywhere Office is an integrated Cisco router behind the cable or DSL modem in the teleworker's home.
The building blocks of the Cisco Enterprise-Class Teleworker solution are:
• Site-to-site VPN technology emulates the office environment through a Cisco router such as the Cisco 800 Series Integrated Services Router at the employee's location. Wireless LAN (WLAN) services can also be enabled on the Cisco 800 Series Software at the employee location.
• Integrated router security features from Cisco, including Cisco IOS® Firewall and Cisco IOS IPS,significantly reduce the risk of security breaches, the abuse of network privileges, and the spread of malware. Identity-based networking services provide strong authentication of users and devices to prevent unauthorized use.
• VoIP services at the employee's remote location are possible with Cisco Unified IP Phones and QoS capabilities available with Cisco IOS on the Cisco 800 Series. The same Unified Communications user experience and services available at the office-such as call routing, forwarding, conferencing, one-touch dialing, and voicemail- can be available to the remote teleworker.
Summary
Flexible, robust, and secure, Cisco teleworking solutions keep businesses connected and mobile. There are many options to choose from, designed to meet the needs of diverse types of companies and employee job roles. Cisco Advanced Services can help with advice or with delivery of a solution tailored to meet your needs. Cisco Capital® has developed many methods of financing remote teleworking solutions. To learn more about Cisco teleworking solutions, please contact your Cisco account manager.
