**UPDATE: New RAP models have since been announced to expand the 802.11ac product line. Please click here for info on those access points!**
For years, working remotely has been especially cumbersome for users, either due to stringent security policies or even an employee’s own reluctance to use corporate VPN or unified communications. Now with the plug-and-play convenience of a single remote device, companies are breaking down these barriers while securely delivering services securely to their employees.
We all know VPN and teleworking are not fancy new concepts. But how we deploy, manage, and secure them are. Industry trends around SDN and SD-WAN focus on simplicity, centralized management, and speed of deployment (check out my previous blog on SD-WAN), and are driving remote access needs in a similar way.
If you’re researching remote networks, you know the latest solutions give you the ability to manage remote access across a multivendor environment, consolidate your distributed enterprise across a single management interface, and even provision and deploy remote networks with zero-touch simplicity.
The Aruba Remote Access Point (or RAP) delivers all of this and more. Think of it as a hardware VPN device that extends the corporate network just as a larger branch network would, but without the typical downtime. It includes wired and wireless connections, and it’s also smart enough to identify and route public vs. private WAN traffic to help boost network performance, without compromising on security. Add to that, we can also extend policy enforcement for users and apps with Aruba ClearPass and content security services with little IT overhead.
So how does a RAP work? Simply plug the device into an existing Internet connection at home or temporary workspace, and in just a few minutes, employees can auto-connect to the same corporate SSID, and access the same printers, VoIP telephony, and other services they typically use in the office.
Organizations who have invested in a single campus vendor can simply deploy RAPs as an overlay and immediately realize savings by using an existing broadband interface, a simple zero-touch configuration with the Aruba Activate service, and unified management and monitoring with Aruba AirWave across multivendor networks.
A great use case for RAPs in action comes from a large health insurance company who recently deployed over 2,000 devices for a remote worker initiative. The Sr. Network Engineer said, “The challenge for us was providing our employees [with] secure connectivity while maintaining HIPAA compliance. Deploying Aruba’s RAPs allowed us to keep things simple, and secure.”
Aruba RAPs enabled customers to extend the enterprise across a highly mobile workforce, many who can simply plug-and-play their device at home, at affiliate hospitals, or remote clinics, making it a true mobility solution.
To learn more about Aruba RAPs, check out this YouTube clip.
If you just received a RAP from your IT department, setting up the device is simple! See how easy it is!
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