As the global workplace becomes increasingly mobile – IDC expects 1.9 billion users on the internet and three billion users on the phone network by 2012 – organizations require secure, clientless remote access to internal network resources from any web browser. Typical users require the use of email, file servers, intranet websites, databases and desktop access to office workstations. With conventional VPN solutions, such as IPsec or PPTP, secure access to resources is often difficult or impossible to manage. Designed for remote employees and road warriors, the Barracuda SSL VPN provides comprehensive control over file systems and web-based applications requiring external access. The Barracuda SSL VPN integrates with third-party authentication mechanisms to control user access levels and provides single sign-on.
Organizations must balance their growing remote access needs against their available IT resources, and a remote access solution must be easy to set up and maintain while having minimal impact on the IT helpdesk. By incorporating the Barracuda SSL VPN into an organization's remote access strategy, users gain the benefits of secure remote access without the cost and complexities of an IPsec solution. The Barracuda SSL VPN provides the advantages of both IPsec and SSL, integrating with popular authentication protocols, such as LDAP, and requiring no client to distribute and no additional network configurations. For IT managers, the Barracuda SSL VPN also enables IT organizations to mitigate the risks of remote access from machines they do not directly control by integrating anti-virus for file uploads, verifying supported computer OS and browser version levels, and cleaning browser caches and temporary files from the computer on disconnecting from the network.
The solution is based on technology obtained through the acquisition of 3SP (based in the U.K.), the originators of the acclaimed SSL-Explorer technology. With more than 275,000 downloads of its community edition on the internet, SSL-Explorer was a highly praised and award-winning software product. After the acquisition by Barracuda Networks, this remote access technology was then integrated with Barracuda Networks' own leading anti-virus management framework and hardware appliance technologies.
Finalists 2010
- Astaro Internet Security for Astaro Security Gateway
- Barracuda Networks for Barracuda SSL VPN
- Citrix Systems for Citrix Access Gateway
- F5 Networks for FirePass SSL VPN
- Microsoft Corp. for Forefront Unified Access Gateway
- SonicWALL for SonicWALL Aventail EX7000