Remotely Easy

EnKoo, a Fremont, Calif.-based company, provides a secure gateway solution that is designed for a higher volume of users to connect remotely via a secure connection, all without the additional monthly charge.

The enKoo-2000 costs about $1,595 and will support as few as five users all the way up to 100 users. The price increases for the remote access—also known as BEAM—and remote desktop features. For example, including both add-on utilities, the price for five users jumps to $2,095, which includes the BEAM and remote desktop functionalities.

Oddly enough, the BEAM option—which allows users to access and have complete keyboard, video and mouse control of a PC—is considered an add-on, and the company will charge additional cash for the remote capability as the concurrent users increase. The enKoo-2000 is a 1U rackmount appliance that sits behind the company firewall and runs a hardened version of Linux. One nice touch is that all remote access activity is logged to provide an audit trail, which can be viewed later on if needed.

The device is both robust in features and easy to manage through a single management console that offers an easy-to-use view of the unit's status, and provides access to the various configuration options.

The solution is granular enough to allow specific permissions with specific users, allowing or not allowing remote access privileges. The administrator can set up limited access to files as well as applications with browsing rights.

The e-mail application, for example, grants permission for employees to securely send and receive e-mail using their own company's e-mail client, which then flows through the enKoo e-mail box, made secure by the 128-bit SSL encryption.

One thing that stood out during testing was how easy the appliance is to set up and install. There is no client software to install so a solution provider does not have to go to the trouble of setting up a massive deployment or—even worse—installing the software on each client in the network, which could take days.

This is truly one of those set-it-and-forget-it devices because once the initial configuration is complete, there is nothing else to maintain other than changing user settings. All functionality, such as granting a user permission, can be performed remotely, which is nice if employees are located all around the country.

The device also offers a great ROI because it offers customers significant dollar savings when compared with enKoo's main competitors in this space. By running multiple security applications, the enKoo-2000 offers more layers of security, thereby preventing security breaches and saving customers money in the long run.

EnKoo sells exclusively through the channel and has 250-plus partners in the United States alone; outside the United States, enKoo sells only through distribution partners. The company's partner program is single-tier and is a pretty simple program with no requirements other than networking experience. The company provides sales and technical training on site or over the Web. EnKoo offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on the solution.