In fact, vendors are so convinced that customers will save money with a VPN that most are willing to help potential clients calculate the return on investment of a proposed rollout. We can show companies that they can get payback in less than four months. Intel, which manufacturers processors for personal computers and corporate servers, entered the VPN game in February, acquiring Shiva, a maker of software and hardware for VPNs. They just get posted to our intranet or extranet, and authenticated users can access the revised version immediately. Global One's VPN has helped the company reduce these sorts of administrative costs by 20 to 25 percent.
Consultants say businesses can reduce expenses even further by outsourcing their VPNs.
Such an approach also eliminates the need for investments in equipment and IT staff. The arrangement also means finance managers no longer have to worry about spending huge sums on network security. That's why the trend is towards outsourcing - unless your core business is managing security. Indeed, some vendors see no reason why most companies shouldn't zero in on their core competencies - and let vendors manage their communications network. But some VPN providers do concede that companies with particularly high security needs may want to administer their virtual private networks in-house.