VARs: iPass Suite Allows For Growth

hen it comes to managing secure communications, selling to a small business can be difficult. Costs are high for good technology, and frequently there is no economy of scale to make worthwhile services affordable.

That’s a situation Redwood Shores, Calif.-based iPass intends to change. The connectivity services vendor specializes in hosted services that run the gamut from endpoint management to password encryption. Its flagship product, iPass Corporate Access, focuses on remote connectivity, offering secure dial-up or broadband connections for any size business.

The iPass software takes a different approach to VPNs, said Rick Bilodeau, director of corporate marketing. First, the product instructs a user’s firewall to lock down the endpoint so it can only talk to iPass servers on the network. Next, the iPass servers run checks on the system’s vulnerability and assessment tools.

iPass acts as a connectivity aggregator, contracting with more than 280 wired and wireless network providers (including T-Mobile, a recent partner) to bring customers what it bills as one of the widest remote-access networks in the world. Once iPass solution providers sign up customers, iPass charges per minute, and throws in monthly and annual access fees. Among solution providers, this model resonates loudly.

“Too often, SMB customers are forced to compromise with consumer products or a mixed bag of short-term solutions,” said Mike Backers, president of Altoria Solutions, Cincinnati. “[iPass] provides a modular product suite that can be designed and changed to match ever-changing and growing business needs.”

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Thanks to iPass, Oshkosh, Wisc.-based i2roam bills itself as one of the largest Internet roaming providers in the world, enabling small businesses to connect from 29,000 modem and wireless access points around the world, said owner Tim Murray. “Not having to worry about this kind of thing is a huge benefit for a growing business,” he said.