You can provide IT support for all your staff, no matter where they are.
Housing associations often have large numbers of small offices, all needing access to IT services. This is very expensive, so care is needed to get value for money.

The key to connecting remote users is to find the most appropriate network that reaches the widest possible area and meets your requirements. Most important will be the speed of connection you need and how many hours a day it will be used. Ask:

  • How many users are at each site?
  • Are there any home users?
  • What applications are used?
  • How long are users connected to the network each day?
  • Do you need a fixed-cost connection?
  • Is the connection used for file sharing?
  • Is the speed of the connection important for some applications to work?
  • What would be the impact of the connection failing?

What are the options?
Choosing the right connection for your requirements is not easy. It always comes down to the need for good performance at an affordable cost. You may need extra hardware – such as modems or remote access servers – to connect your offices. You can choose:

  • a permanent fixed link – an “always-on” connection
  • a dial-up telephone or ISDN connection
  • a connection through the internet using a “virtual private network” (VPN)
  • broadband networking – a new high-speed technology
  • a switched connection through your telecoms service provider that allows data to be sent between websites.

If you use ISDN or dial-up services more than three hours a day, it would be cost effective to try an alternative. Virtual private networks perform best if all of the sites share a single internet service provider.

Other things to think about
If you intend to run applications other than internet access and email across all your offices, consult the software vendor on the suitability of the proposed link.

Do not expect your computer applications to perform as fast over a dial-up connection as they do in the office or within a local area.

Installation costs amount for a large proportion of the total cost, so ensure that your strategy is viable for a two-year period and won’t need to be changed again very soon.

Finally, ensure that you monitor usage and think about the security of your network. Many excellent products are available to track utilisation – and they help to avoid surprise phone bills as well.

Business need

  • Single PC occasionally used for email
  • Single PC needing permanent connection for file sharing and email
  • Small network needing email and internet access, and file and application sharing

    • Solution

  • Dial-up networking using a modem or ISDN if use is more frequent
  • A broadband or other form of permanent connection is likely to be more cost-effective
  • Consider virtual private network, broadband or switched internet provider services

    • Additional considerations

  • If the number of PCs , usage or range of applications increases, consider other options
  • If you have a large number of single-user sites (15 or more), it may be worthwhile to become a broadband service provider
  • Using a terminal instead of a PC within your central office. This way the data resides on a server in a remote location rather than on the actual PC. This avoids sending lots of data over a small connection

    • Source

    Housing Today

    Postscript

    Peter Lukes is an independent IT consultant