Trocaire Aid Workers Get Helping Hand from LAN Communications
Dublin, Ireland – May 13, 2004 – Leading systems integrator and professional services company, LAN Communications today announced it has deployed a secure remote access solution for Trocaire. Using a laptop and standard Internet browser, Trocaire’s project officers can immediately access real-time information including the Internet and corporate resources such as web-enabled applications or files from any location in the world. The solution, based on AEP SureWare A-Gate from AEP Systems helps Trocaire to respond more effectively to humanitarian disasters and better co-ordinate overseas development activities with other charities and NGOs.
Providing project officers with a simple, user-friendly method of connecting to corporate resources in regions where communications infrastructure is often unreliable was critical as Bart Barrins, IT Manager, Trocaire explains. “In 2003, Trocaire funded 510 projects in 55 countries as far afield as Afghanistan, India and the Philippines. In choosing a remote access solution, we had to ensure that the complexity and administration overhead for both IT staff and user was minimal. With limited IT knowledge, project officers required a completely transparent technology solution, negating the need to reconfigure dial-up or Internet settings each time they wished to connect.”
AEP SureWare A-Gate AG-600 provided the best technology fit for Trocaire’s requirements. Enabling remote access from a standard Internet browser over a secure authenticated connection, the solution is designed to support most client platforms and access scenarios ensuring that corporate data can be accessed using a variety of Web-enabled devices including laptops, PDAs or even mobile phones. Unlike most remote access solutions on the market, there is no requirement to pre-install client software, and configuration at central site can be completed at a fraction of the time required to install a traditional IPSec VPN. “Ease of deployment and management made AEP SureWare A-Gate remote access solution the natural choice for us,” commented Bart Barrins.
Securing the integrity of data across the Internet was also a key concern for Trocaire, with project officers accessing sensitive financial information such as the donations database.
“AEP range of SSL VPN appliances are specifically designed to meet the stringent security requirements and budgets of medium-sized companies,” according to Sean McNamee, Managing Director, LAN Communications. “The flexibility offered by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology coupled with the power of Virtual Private Networks (VPN) ensures that clients can cost-effectively leverage the benefits of a traditional network access solution such as easy firewall traversal and application access controls.” AEP Systems has proven expertise in delivering hardware security and acceleration solutions that are fast and cost-effective to deploy. AEP SureWare A-Gate is one of four AEP Systems’ products implemented by LAN Communications.
“The solution integrated with our existing network infrastructure and provided us with added scope to connect regional offices to the central site and offer employees the option of round the clock remote access,” comments Bart Barrins. “For example, I can remotely check that back-ups have been completed and can troubleshoot specific network problems without having to physically travel to the office to connect. As Trocaire’s project officers are working across different timezones, 24-hour availability of corporate resources is key,” he concluded.
ABOUT LAN COMMUNICATIONS
LAN Communications was established in 1993 with the express aim of bringing leading-edge communications solutions to Irish industry. With a strong understanding of both the business and technical issues facing organisations today, it has been extremely successful in building a market-leading customer base across all industry sectors. From pre-sales consultancy and systems integration through to project management and professional services, LAN Communications operates close working relationships with virtually all of the key IT hardware and software manufacturers. Its pool of highly-skilled engineers hold many of the highest accreditations in the industry including unique status as the first indigenous fully-certified Cisco Gold partner in Ireland. LAN Communications is a subsidiary of eircom.
ABOUT TROCAIRE
Trocaire is the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland. It was set up by the Irish Catholic Bishops in 1973 to express the concern of the Irish Church for the suffering of the world’s poorest and most oppressed people. Trocaire was given a dual mandate: to support long-term development projects overseas and to provide relief during emergencies; and at home to inform the Irish public about the root causes of poverty and injustice and mobilise the public to bring about global change.