Flatrock to reemerge as TruTunnel

A start-up, which, two years ago, took a stab at VPNs for use with external business partners, is giving it another try. Back then, the company was called Flatrock, but will be returning as TruTunnel sometime this summer.

The company isn’t ready to talk specifics, but if it follows the Flatrock technology model, remote users with a software add-on to their browsers will be able to create secure connections with corporate networks.

The system requires two separate boxes, one an access gateway at each site involved in the extranet and one a management server that coordinates authentication and connections between remote users and the access gateways.

Flatrock made a splash just about the time that Secure Sockets Layer remote access started drawing attention and at the time that start-up money was drying up. SSL remote access has some of the same features as Flatrock’s system: a gateway and use of browsers. The company’s tag line at the time was set up a VPN in a day, claiming ease of use that SSL remote access vendors also claim.

Given that in the intervening two years the SSL remote access vendors have made great strides in their technology and inroads into many businesses, TruTunnel may have a tougher sell this time.

But the gear it described the first time around lent itself to supporting managed extranet services, and this may be attractive to users who don’t want to take on the burden of managing more devices when they expand access to their networks. Stay tuned for more later this summer.