Virtual private networks reduce the cost of business communication while extending secure remote access. With the increasing demand for mobility and boom in Wi-Fi use, the emphasis on use of VPNs is greater than ever before, with access extending to laptops, PDAs and smartphones in addition to the stationary remote endpoint.

Today's VPN product must support secure connectivity for hundreds of on-the-go users while maintaining low costs for the enterprise and complying with privacy laws. A successful VPN must be able to transport a wide number of applications and authenticate a large variety of devices while providing easy access to end users. Thus, today's VPN products are evolving to include more robust encryption and to support a greater number of applications than ever before.

The SSL VPN Secure Access line from Juniper Networks is the winner of our prestigious gold 2008 Product Leadership award in the remote access and VPN category. Readers singled out the Juniper SSL VPN Secure Access appliance line for its strong authentication support and its ability to integrate with existing platforms and applications. Eighty-six percent of Juniper SSL VPN users surveyed rated the Secure Access line good or excellent in the category of authentication support. More than 80% rated it good or excellent in breadth/variety of applications and devices covered. Similarly, almost 80% of users surveyed rated the appliance good or excellent in integration and compatibility with existing platforms and applications, with one person pointing out that it "integrates well with existing Juniper firewalls." Seventy percent praised the product's end-user transparency and ease of use.

According to Juniper, its SSL VPN security products are designed for versatility, with a variety of form factors and features that can be combined to meet the needs of companies from SMBs that need VPN access for remote or mobile employees to large global deployments that need to provide secure remote access for employees, partners and customers from a single platform.

Juniper Networks' SSL VPNs are based on the Instant Virtual Extranet platform. They make use of SSL, which leverages the host's existing Web browser and obtains client-side code from the VPN gateway, eliminating the need for additional software to be installed on the client machine.

Amy Kucharik, Site Editor