Maxnet Wins Share of Telecom's VPN Market 

Dated 26th March 2007

Maxnet is winning significant market share in a market space previously the preserve of Telecom.

The recent official launch of Maxnet's Business Connect service means it is now a serious contender as a MPLS Virtual Private Network (VPN) provider.

"Not only do we provide businesses with a viable alternative to Telecom's One Office product but we also can deliver significant advantages," according to Maxnet MD, Brett Herkt.

The Company recently implemented VPN solutions for advertising agency M&C Saatchi.

Herkt says being carrier agnostic delivers huge customer benefits.

"It means we can deploy the most suitable type of connection for each office on the VPN with no bias concerning the last mile provider. We nominate the best available at each respective location. For example we can combine a Frame Relay circuit, ADSL connection and wireless connection via three different last mile providers. Utilising MPLS technology, these connections become the managed VPN. Telcos simply don't offer this diversity."

M&C Saatchi has offices around the globe with fast and secure VPN's in place. Plans are underway for every employee worldwide to have access to their global Shared Resource Management System and other shared resources. The Auckland and Wellington offices previously had separate IT systems but now operate on a single system.

"This structure is not only convenient, but much better for security and disaster recovery," says M&C Saatchi IT Manager, Lisa Coleman. "We have also purchased a High Definition Video Conferencing system that we will be using via the MPLS between Auckland and Wellington in the next couple of weeks and eventually Melbourne and Sydney."

Last year Maxnet moved away from traditional IPsec VPN tunneling technology and adopted the highly secure Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) architecture on its core network.

"The resulting interest from SME's looking to cost-effectively transfer private data securely over the public internet has been significant," says Herkt. "Not only does the technology allow for faster and more efficient connections through lower overheads on the circuit but you suddenly have far greater choice on how you route traffic."

Traditionally, one of the barriers for small companies utilising a VPN connection has been the expense of installing dedicated circuits.

"MPLS enables you to use your existing internet connections to create a VPN to connect remote offices," says Herkt. "It means you lower the cost of installing expensive routers at your business premise and you are able to add additional sites easily as your company grows. In terms of scalability and cost reductions, it's a far more attractive solution than traditional IPsec VPN's."

Herkt notes that Maxnet's bundle of managed services including VPN, server management, managed firewall and high availability colocation have been significant drivers of the company's success and profitability in the past year.

"Maxnet is enjoying the benefits of focusing on the ‘mission critical end' of the business and wholesale markets and avoiding the distractions of scrapping for margin in the increasingly competitive mass market segment."

END