Tools of the Trade: Technology and Networking Solutions

What’s the difference between a Private Network and a Virtual Private Network (VPN)?

Franchise systems around Australia and the world are implementing private network solutions because there is nothing “virtual” about their privacy and security. A private network is a platform that supports innovative business applications such as IP telephony, video conferencing and unified communications, all of which have the ability to change the way you do business for tremendous benefit.

There are four major benefits of a dedicated private network over a “virtual” private network:

1. Security

A VPN connection runs across the public Internet, an unsecure network that’s globally-available and completely unmanaged. A Pacnet Private Network is constructed wholly within our core network, so your valuable and sensitive business data never touches the Internet. To access the Net you use a single managed Internet gateway, which is protected by a firewall.

2. Quality of Service (QoS)

A Pacnet Private Network can prioritise data that must be delivered immediately, for example VoIP or video conferencing data. It prioritises this data over less time-sensitive applications such as email or data backups providing an ideal environment to implement emerging corporate applications such as Unified Communications. You can’t take advantage of these business tools without first connecting to a private network.

3. Cost

Costs for an Internet-based connection can be low compared to a Pacnet Private Network cost more per month. This makes a VPN appear cheaper, but the true value provided by increased productivity, efficiency and teamwork as well as improved staff and customer satisfaction should not be underestimated. A Pacnet Private Networks comes with fixed data costs so you will never get the nasty surprise of a bill for excess data.

4. Reliability and Performance

A Pacnet Private Network transfers data over our secure network backbone and not the public Internet, so your data will never suffer from Internet congestion. The performance of Internet connections are also subject to the amount of data they’re carrying. VPN performance is reduced by the necessity of encrypting the data, but since a private network is inherently secure, the need for encryption is eliminated.

This article appears courtesy of Pacnet , one of Australia and the Asia Pacific’s leading business telecommunications service providers.