As the VPN market approaches maturity at a brisk pace, vendors have been forced to rethink the tradition identity of their IP Security-based technology for letting users securely access enterprise resources via the Internet. Most large companies in need of linking their offices together have done so on frame relay networks. Although frame is still a useful product many users have found that the reduced cost of VPN gives them an attractive alternative.

'During the last 18 months, vendors have pushed VPN technology into different devices, have lessened the distinction between VPN and firewall products, and have demonstrated a strong willingness to deviate from standardized technology to meet corporate remote access requirements. VPN services now come bundled with many dedicated services and several service providers are using VPN products as a loss leader so they can sell circuits. When investigating the use of VPN products make sure you speak with a professional who can guide you through the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the product. While it is a cost reduced alternative to frame it is a different product and should be thoroughly researched.

One of the advantages of a VPN is that internet access is not based only on the hub and spoke layout. The users away from the hub are able to access the internet through their own connection rather than going through the hub and creating a bottleneck. Users will only need to connect through the hub if they need to access information from the central database. When researching alternatives such as VPN, like always, we recommend you consult with a professional and not just a salesman for a VPN company. Make sure the individual you speak with is unbiased and will give you the strengths and weaknesses of each product. We recommend one of the brokers at T1 price for unbiased recommendations of multiple carriers.

Why shouldn't shopping for a dedicated internet service be as simple as shopping for a plane trip to Hawaii? In the past the process of getting pricing for dedicated internet service has been anything but simple but that has just changed. Today getting a t1 line price is as simple as entering your information and hitting "enter". With Geoquote software brokers are now offering real-time T1 prices just like you had hoped you could get when you started your search.

Geoquote is a software recently released that allows brokers to give real-time pricing to those seeking service. The software is doing for the telecom industry what Sabre did for the travel industry. In the 60's AMR, the parent company of American Airlines created a software and then began licensing it to the public. This software backed by massive databases was spun off in the form of "Sabre" which owns Travelocity and licenses this software to travel brokers and websites.

If the creators of Geoquote follow the same path as Sabre, this software will be the industry standard and brokers will have to use this software to enable their customer to get quotes in real time. While some brokers are able to run a profitable business without giving out real-time informaion these brokers will soon see their profitability reduce as they spend more time gathering information than actually dealing with customers. If you're currently searching for service, make sure you find a broker that uses Geoquote software.