Unifying Connectivity from Suburban Semi's to Double-Deckers
iPass Virtual Office Expands to the UK

Whether for work-life balance reasons or simply to squeeze more productivity out of the day, more and more people are working outside of the traditional office setting today.

The major benefit of teleworking, is that it allows businesses to cut costs while increasing staff productivity and work-life balance. For instance, the average cost of a work station in a UK office is £6,422. This rises to £14,778 in London's West End . In comparison, providing broadband, a PC/laptop and a phone to an employee's home can be an attractive alternative for employers. For the employees, spiraling petrol, rail and congestion charge costs make ditching the daily commute an increasingly attractive option.

While flexi-working is catching up in the UK with an estimated 3 million teleworkers today, many companies still cite technology as a barrier to the adoption of flexible working practices.

Connecting Teleworkers and Mobile Professionals

Recognizing this, iPass has taken the first step in expanding its connectivity offerings for global teleworkers and mobile employees by introducing the iPass Virtual Office service to the United Kingdom.

The Virtual Office service combines iPass' managed fixed broadband service in the home with the iPass Mobile Office remote connectivity service. A single interface connects users at home through managed enterprise-grade DSL links and on the road through dial, Wi-Fi and Ethernet. Options for mobile data access are also available. This seamless user connection experience all but eliminates the potential for connection issues.

In addition, the iPass Virtual Office service eliminates the IT hassle of provisioning service, coordinating troubleshooting and managing multiple vendor relationships. It also offers support, security and cost-containment benefits that simply aren't available through simple DSL or cable subscriptions alone.

Delivering Real Business Value

Professional design and deployment. Every Virtual Office engagement begins with professional design and managed deployment to ensure the solution meets customer application, security and technology requirements. Project managers then coordinate the delivery of each pre-configured wireless home broadband device and secure client interface, limiting user frustration and downtime.

Seamless user experience. Delivered pre-configured for each customer, the award-winning iPassConnect™ universal client connects workers at home, in the office or from the road via any iPass-supported access service with a single username and password. iPassConnect and the home Wi-Fi gateway installed are pre-configured for automatic detection and connection* to further simplify secure home access.

Unmatched coverage. iPass currently covers 95 percent of employee homes across the UK with managed fixed broadband. Virtual Office also includes remote access in more than 175 countries via 80,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, 1,800 wired Ethernet locations, 30,000 dial locations, and leading mobile data, GSM, ISDN and PHS networks.

Consolidated billing. A single integrated bill allows IT managers to more easily manage monthly budgets and control remote access "black budget" costs.

Security. Support for WPA and WPA2* wireless security and integration with leading VPNs, personal firewalls and anti-virus software can help protect corporate data and user credentials.

Managed service units (MSUs). Included, pre-configured MSUs enable routing capabilities and security features. They also serve as monitoring points for iPass to support home locations.

Device management. Customers can optionally integrate the iPass Device Management service to ensure remote devices are properly updated whenever they connect to the Internet.

Vendor management. iPass manages all vendor relationships and holds suppliers accountable, such as those supplying the MSUs.

Change management. Back-end iPass systems push out updates to the MSUs at teleworker home locations.

SLAs and reporting. Comprehensive SLAs with metrics are measured and reported monthly to give IT managers insight into network availability, performance and end-user experiences.

Support. Around-the-clock customer care, technical support and online tools provide access to consolidated ordering information, billing and customer care ticket detail. The iPass Portal includes a real-time reporting tool that provides IT administrators with comprehensive insights into usage trends, trouble ticket status and more.

Meeting Global Customer Needs

¹ Source: www.onrec.com

* Requires iPassConnect v3.5 or higher for automatic connection to the pre-configured home Wi-Fi gateway and for use of WPA2.