* Findings of Synergy's 'Q1 2006 Network Security Solutions Forecast' report
SSL VPNs will continue to come on strong over the next five years, according to a new study by Synergy Research Group.
As corporations seek a way to provide flexible remote access to employees, many will adopt SSL VPNs, which can access some network resources via a browser alone. Sales of this type of gear will grow from $295 million this year to $680 million by 2009, the report says.
But according to the study, “Q1 2006 Network Security Solutions Forecast,” another key factor will be businesses that are replacing their IPSec VPNs with SSL VPNs. While the report doesn’t speculate why, SSL VPNs have developed to the point that if customers choose to, they can grant full network access to remote users, just as they get with IPSec VPNs. The advantage is that the same platform can support some access without having to install a client on the remote machine.
With IPSec, a client is required for any use of the VPN and it supports only network layer access.
The report says that SSL VPNs will find new ways of securing wireless LANs. Authenticated, encrypted SSL sessions between wireless laptops and VPN gateways that sit on the network side of a wireless access points boost security. Native wireless security locks down the connection between the laptop and the access point, but doesn’t restrict what resources can be accessed.
A separate finding of the study points out that growth of the security market in general is being pushed in part by businesses retooling their security to include multifunction security devices as well as incorporating some security functions in network switches and routers. This goes along with surveys that indicate security is a top priority of large businesses and that they are increasing spending to make their networks safer.
