Customers Like SSL VPNs for Ease of Use, IPSec for Security
6/26/2007 -- So which are better, SSL or IPSec VPNs? The answer, not surprisingly, depends on what you mean by the word "better": customers tend to like SSL VPNs for ease of use, although IPSec VPNs get top marks for security.
That's one upshot of a new VPN study from market watcher Infonetics Research. Infonetics surveyed network managers at more than 250 small-, medium- and large-sized businesses. It found that the perceived security benefits of IPSec VPNs do come at a cost, however: Customers rate IPSec configurations as high in both cost and complexity, while SSL VPN adopters tend to have reservations about security and protection.
"Security and performance are the top driving factors when respondents are trying to decide between IPSec and SSL for VPN use, and user experience is at the bottom of the list. Many IT managers think strong security and a good user experience are mutually exclusive. It's up to vendors to show this isn't really the case any more," said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst for VPNs and security at Infonetics Research, in a statement.
Elsewhere, Infonetics found, SSL VPNs continue to demonstrate momentum in the managed services space, where 35 percent of respondents overall (including 46 percent of federal respondents) think it's critical that their providers offer SSL VPN services.
Infonetics had good news for Cisco: It found that the networking giant received the highest marks of any vendor, rating first in all categories -- with the exception of pricing and price-to-performance. Cisco rival Juniper Networks, on the other hand, rated second-highest for technology, product roadmap, service and support, and financial stability.
Finally, 69 percent of organizations reported that they plan to deploy strong authentication for VPN users by April 2009. According to Infonetics, the three most heavily regulated verticals are also those which are most keen on VPN adoption, with 86 percent of federal, 70 percent of financial and 60 percent of health care organizations planning to roll out VPNs. --Stephen Swoyer
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