But living on the techno-edge doesn't have to mean career suicide. Cut the odds by following the basics on picking a service. First, get clear on who is delivering the new IP services today. Of the dozen or so VPN providers, nearly half either went through a major transformation during the past two years or else weren't even around. Next, get clear on what these companies mean by VPNs.
Marketers refer to VPNs in all sorts of ways.
Private-network VPNs are the ones network managers will use to replace a frame relay network. Clarifying these differences will go a long way in helping you decide which provider to add to your shortlist. Once that's clear, drill down on the types of service classes and SLAs being offered. Unlike conventional data services where one size fits all, providers are configuring private-network VPNs with a range of service classes to match the networking requirements of different applications. That said, these service classes are limited as to what they can provide.