Data Chain: Claranet launches 3G service for today's mobile office

Extract taken from The Data Chain

Claranet has launched a new 3G service integrating mobile working and back-up connectivity, which links directly to its private network. The new service avoids the need for its customers and their end-users in turn, to use the public internet for any flow of data.

Using either a SIM card for mobile users or a 3G router to provide extra connectivity for office locations, the service provides a new level of flexibility and simplicity to connect with Claranet’s private network.

While most mobile carriers price their private 3G offerings to discourage small and mid-market businesses through excessive set-up charges, Claranet doesn’t charge to enable its private network, so customers can start small and grow as they need. This drastically reduces the cost of entry for companies wanting to create secure remote working access for their employees. It also allows for greater flexibility to meet changing demand as the trend for bring your own device (BYOD) develops.

The service will keep data within an organisation’s firewall, removing costly and bureaucratic authentication processes from IT departments and the need for virtual private networks to encrypt data on the public internet, constraining bandwidth and data flows.

According to the latest research 35 percent of CIOs, IT Managers and business decision-makers believe that their mobile workforce will grow over the next year. A quarter of those questioned in the recent IDC EMEA Enterprise Mobility CIO Survey[1] also stated that they would spend more on mobile technology over the next 12 months.

Michel Robert, Managing Director at Claranet UK says:

Our new 3G service is an important part of our offering to a market that is adjusting to the rise of BYOD. CIOs need to be confident that this new mobile way of working will reduce complexity while maintaining the integrity and security of their data. If mobile working or back-up connectivity are not fully integrated with the private network, then IT departments effectively have to run 3G as a separate system. Different levels of security and specific authentication processes are then needed for the rest of their IT platform.