Product is integrated with
SSL VPN
Bolstering its lineup of remote access management offerings, 3amLabs on Thursday
debuted three products including a free version of its flagship product, LogMeIn,
that helps IT managers locate and manage remote access products.
Along with the free version, the company also rolled out LogMeIn Pro, which
includes all the capabilities of the standard version of LogMeIn but adds
features aimed at mobile users, and LogMeIn Scout, which helps administrators
discover remote access products existing on their networks. The latter product
also helps administrators define and enable LogMeIn usage policies on a network.
LogMeIn Scout fills in a "missing piece of the puzzle" for the company in terms
of being able to offer a more complete solution for managing remote products,
according to 3amLabs CEO Michael Simon.
"Essentially remote access products are off [of the] traditional corporate
network. They are where non-corporate computers met the network. There are
plenty of tools to manage things on the network, but very few that can manage
things off the network. Scout can manage that communications process," Simon
said.
The new version gives administrators remote access to either business or home
computers from a range of networked device, giving users full access to desktop
applications. The product is built on an on-demand SSL VPN service, which
includes security features designed to cut off unauthorized users, company
officials explained.
Some analysts generally believe there can be significant cost advantages to
using SSL VPNs.
"The simplicity and portability of SSL VPNs can lower the cost to implement
remote-user VPNs for workstations, as well as access from non-corporate systems
like PCs. Where traditional VPNs are not required, enterprises can expect
immediate value from investing in SSL VPNs in the form of easier deployment and
support," said John Girard, vice president and research director at Gartner.
Scout, which is bundled free in LogMeIn, is able to identify not only copies of
LogMeIn existing on a corporate network but also PC Anywhere GoToMyPC and VNC,
Simon said.
"The two free products really go together. If you look at GoToMyPC, it addresses
two of the main complaints people had, which was it is too expensive or
administrators thought it was too difficult to control and so it wasn't safe.
This is what we are trying to address," Simon said
Some of the mobile features in LogMeIn Pro, priced at $12.95 per month, include
file and folder synchronization, secure file distribution, and remote-to-local
printing. Using the synchronization features, administrators can transfer files
as well as synchronize complete folders between remote and local PCs. They can
also synchronize folders on multiple machines thereby keeping everything up to
date, company officials said.
Used together, the new products can serve as an individual administrators own
"individual VPN."
"Once you get people to do a little remotely, they then want to do a lot
remotely. I think you will see more and more apps coming along that plug into
the SSL VPN service. They will be apps that do very specific things rather than
just generic remote computing solutions," Simon said.