9.4 Plan for the Evolution/Expansion of the Network

9.4 Plan for the Evolution/Expansion of the Network

Any successful business is a growing business. At the very least it will be an evolving business. Envision how your VPN will have to evolve in accordance with your long-range plans. If acquisitions are in your future, you'll probably want a VPN that offers a great deal of fexibility with regard to connecting with other networks. If you are a fast food chain and are adding restaurants at a great clip, you'll want a VPN that is easily scalable. Make sure to look at what you are using now and how it meshes with possible future plans.

You may have to dig deeply to ferret out potential problems that may arise down the road. A medical software company, for example, implemented a VPN to serve their mobile workforce; while the VPN works, and they have enjoyed the savings they projected, they've also discovered that it is not as convenient as the dial-up connections they used in the past. In particular, some applications, such as Microsoft Networking, have connectivity problems, which the medical software company hopes will fade as the technology matures. Now they are also feeling pressure to provide telecommuting connections, which require Microsoft Networking. If they can't resolve these problems, they may have to rethink their strategy.

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9.4 Plan for the Evolution/Expansion of the Network

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