Cisco Systems Introduces Clientless VPN Technology

November 10, 2003: Cisco® Systems, Inc. (Cisco), announced it has extended functionality of its industry-leading Cisco VPN 3000 Series Concentrators with support for new Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). The new capability enables customers to remotely access applications from a standard web browser from virtually any client device. The addition of this capability enables increased flexibility and cost-effective remote access options by concurrently supporting both SSL and IPsec VPNs on the Cisco VPN 3000 Series Concentrators at no additional cost to customers. Customers are increasingly looking to connect their mobile workforce to corporate network resources through a standard web browser from any client device with optimized security. To address this requirement, Cisco is introducing Cisco WebVPN; an SSL VPN solution, which will be integrated with the Cisco VPN 3000 Series Concentrator in software version 4.1. With no client software required to be installed or maintained on the remote device, Cisco WebVPN enables users to gain a highly secure connection from any browser-based device, such as a PC located at a client's premises. The combination of WebVPN and the client-based IPsec VPN solution of the Cisco VPN 3000 provides unparalleled deployment flexibility and ease of management for meeting the requirements of remote application access.

"Companies are looking to leverage both Remote SSL-based and IPSec VPN technologies to connect user communities depending on their access environments and access requirements," said Zeus Kerravala, vice president, Enterprise Infrastructure, at The Yankee Group, a leading research and consulting firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. "The combination of Cisco's WebVPN and IPSec VPNs on a single head-end platform provides a compelling value proposition for networked organizations of all sizes."

The new SSL VPN software extends Cisco's comprehensive range of VPN technology solutions, and further advances Cisco's integrated security strategy of integrating security services and threat defense capabilities throughout Internet Protocol (IP) networks.

"Cisco's WebVPN enables us to increase productivity of our remote workers by providing connectivity with industry-leading security and extending the network without having to install VPN software on the client," said Stephen C. Smith, network manager at Keystone Mercy Health Plan, a managed healthcare organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "Cisco's approach of offering both VPN technologies on a single platform with no additional or hidden fees for these services allows for maximum flexibility and investment protection."

"With the WebVPN software running on the Cisco VPN 3000 Series Concentrator, remote users will gain access to a growing set of common software applications, including web pages, file sharing, email, client-server applications, and other web-based applications. Users gain access through almost any Internet connected system running most operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Solaris or MacOS X. In addition, as an integrated service of the Cisco VPN 3000 Series Concentrator, WebVPN takes advantage of the platform's simple web-based management, advanced authentication, authorization, load balancing and clustering services.