Slashdot Mirror
Remote Access Solutions for Businesses?
thajeavis asks: "We are in the process of replacing our existing remote access system for IT staff and other faculty/staff. Previously, we were using a Bay Networks (Nortel) Remote Access Concentrator with an ISDN circuit. The equipment failed and the cost of the ISDN PRI is too high based on the low usage. We are presently testing a VPN solution using the employee's own dialup or broadband connection (Cable/DSL). The issue has also come up over who is to pay for the dialup/broadband connection, the employee or the college since it will be used to work from home. I am most interested in what type of solution your institution has in place for remote access for IT staff and who pays for that access. We also are interested in what type of access, if any is available for other faculty/staff. Any insight on this issue will be greatly appreciated."
My company uses VPN for home access, and they pay for my connection. They used to provide an ISDN line to my home, and I never saw a bill. A few years ago, they switched to using VPN, and now we can file expense reports for our home Internet access (up to some dollar limit). Most people get cable or DSL.
Of course, the employees who qualify to expense their connections are the same ones that are given pagers and are expected to deal with urgent problems promptly during off hours. (They also provide company computers for home use.)
Remember, one big difference between an employee and a contractor is that the company provides the tools necessary to do the job for employees. If VPN access from home is necessary for employees to do their jobs, then the company should pay for it. If it's an optional thing, then the employee can pay for it if he wants to.
They have linux , windows, and mac clients, and our implementation uses SecurID for authentication, so at least it seems secure. (not being a security expert I have no idea if it actually is.)
--there's a previous model of "cost of working" that is well established. Usually an employee who must physically travel into work pays for this travel out of their own pocket, auto, gas, etc, normal commuter expenses. That is usally more than a broadband connection cost. I would think anyone lucky and skilled enough to work from home would gladly pay a nominal fee such as this for their job access. In sales where travel costs are deductable, it usually doesn't apply until after the first 50 miles daily (IIRC), again, much higher than a monthly broadband account most places. In other words it's such a good deal for the employee compared to the alternative they should just pony it up. If your employer wants to pay it, well, that's cool too but expecting them to pay for your physical or electronic travel just to "get to work" everyday is not usually a normal expense most employers pay.
As to related expenses, not sure in the white collar IT world but in the blue collar world most jobs I have had require that I personally own and pay for "tools" which cost a lot more in aggregate than most laptops. If it was me I would just assume before even applying anywhere that an IT job would require me to have and own a laptop,and I would already own one being an "IT" guy, although if I worked inside a cube exclusively I would expect the employer to have the workstation. This is just normal, when I've had factory jobs I didn't pay for the lathe or bandsaw I was running, but on construction sites 90%+ of the tools I used were my own. I paid for my own specialised work clothing, blue collar, I paid for my own steel toed boots, rugged clothing and hard hat and gloves, white collar sales jobs I have had, I paid for my own suits and shiny shoes, and etc. I never even considered that the employer pay for this clothing.
I would think in today's economy that both employers and employees in IT would just "get real" on pay scales, corporate profits, expectations, and costs of doing business. A little of give and take both ways might result in this IT company actually staying in business and everyone concerned remaining employed. I mean, diidn't we just go through this dotbomb phenomenon? Was there nothing to learn from this?
I am reminded of the lessons of eastern airlines, an old, established, profitable enterprise that tanked swiftly once the 'stupidity and greed' factor became part of the mindset there, and was shared across the board up and down and sideways throught their organization. Where a combination of white collar mismanagement and arrogance and severe over compensation, combined with completely unrealistic blue collar union demands and expectations of compensation, resulted in *no one* at eastern airlines having "a job" after a short time frame of this attitude being adopted.
Our company offered to pay for the broadband (cable or DSL) connection. However, if the company paid, the connection was restricted to business use, and the terms of the corporate code of conduct. Browse porn or use P2P and you could be fired.
Wow, how magnanimous of them-- "We'll pay, if you agree to these ridiculous restrictions designed to deter most people from accepting the offer." What next, will the RIAA offer free CDs to the deaf?
My company kicks in $50/month