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Q&A with Pete Davis, Cisco Product Manager
Q: How does this innovation work? What does it accomplish?
A: The Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware Client brings VPN client software functionality
to a hardware device. Take, for example, a small office or a home
user who can't run software because the software doesn't run on the
home system, or an extranet partner for whom you can't afford to provide
desktop tech support. [The device] goes on the other side of a DSL/cable
connection and allows you to create the same secure session without
an additional computer.
Users simply plug the box into a cable modem, router, or other wide
area networks (WANs) access device at their remote sites. The central
site VPN concentrator takes over, using push policy capabilities to
centrally set policy, manage, and upgrade the device. This central
control and management approach minimizes the need to rely on remote
users who cannot deploy or maintain the unit themselves. It also significantly
trims total cost of ownership by reducing technical support costs
associated with software clients and remote VPN routers. Tunnel setup
and policy configuration is automated, so companies don't have to
dedicate IT staff to manually configure individual devices.
Q: Why is the innovation important to Cisco?
A: Cisco already has the industry's most comprehensive portfolio of
VPN solutions. The VPN 3002 extends and enhances that, giving us an
even stronger product offering for companies that have large numbers
of branch, home, or remote office sites. The Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware
Client makes it possible for organizations to cost-effectively provide
secure network connectivity to people who could not easily or cost-effectively
get it before.
Q: Why is the innovation important to Cisco's customers?
A: It vastly reduces support costs associated with providing VPN connectivity
to home, remote, and branch office environments. It lets you scale
up to a large number of remote sites or users; you can now install
this at 5,000 remote offices, and you don't have to worry about it
becoming such a management headache. It's the only product in the
industry that makes a hardware VPN device something that doesn't require
manual configuration at all different sites.
The device also improves performance so that companies can offer better
customer service. For example, the ability to centrally monitor the
device allows companies to perform real-time inventory control. The
ability to push information to the clients allows companies to do
things like updating pricing information in point-of-sale devices
to reflect the latest in-store promotions.
Q: How does the innovation change the way the Internet is used?
A: It's simple. This makes it possible for organizations to cost-effectively
provide secure network connectivity to people who could not easily
or cost-effectively get it before. It makes VPNs more practical, more
reliable, and much more compelling for companies with large numbers
of branch, home, or remote office sites.
This product isn't about speeds and feeds; it's about changing the
way networking is done, enabling companies to use the Internet for
business connectivity.
Q: What is the single most important aspect about this innovation?
A: The most significant feature is the combination of push policy
technology with the option of dynamic IP assignment. Prior to this,
users had two choices for deploying remote access VPNs: software clients
and VPN routers. Software clients offer push policy, pricing advantages
and scale well, but they do not always operate efficiently in mixed
OS environments or with applications running on end user devices that
the company does not own or control. Similarly, in site-to-site environments,
policy information for VPN routers is not commonly dynamically assigned
during a connection since there may be may need to be many unrelated
connections.
The 3002 solves these problems by automating the process. Once the
device is plugged in, IP addresses are dynamically assigned from a
pool and pushed to the client devices. This "Instant VPN" feature
effectively eliminates the need to spend hours setting connectivity
parameters between the central site and each individual client. It
also reduces the total amount of time it takes to deploy an entire
VPN - from weeks to hours - and significantly lowers deployment costs.
Once it's up-and-running, it's centrally managed, and an auto-upgrade
feature keeps everything current. The process of maintaining security,
managing the system, and upgrading it is transparent to the end user.
But for the organization, the results are very apparent: VPNs are
possible where they were not possible before, they can be deployed
faster to a broader demographic, they're more secure, and the company
is saving money.
Q: How does this innovation give Cisco a competitive advantage?
A: There is no direct competition, but some other devices perform
some of the functions provided by the 3002.
The Cisco VPN 3002 Hardware Client, which can be used as a remote
access or as hybrid LAN-to-LAN device, is much easier to deploy than
other solutions. Its dynamic IP addressing and policy configuration
effectively eliminates the need to spend hours setting connectivity
parameters between the central site and each individual client. It
can scale to tens of thousands of units across a network, while another
large equipment manufacturer's device will scale to "hundreds."
Q: What expectations did you or Cisco have for this innovation?
Have those expectations been met or exceeded?
A: We expected customers to believe in the fact that they needed this.
The product has been out a few months, and we've already shipped more
units than ever imaginable. We had the right idea, and we built something
unique in the marketplace. The only expectation is to see that you've
built something customers can use, and solve a problem no one else
had solved properly for them.
It's too early to predict outright product success, but we have exceeded
sales targets so far. We've had lots of good questions and interest
in the product. I think we're on the right path.
Q: Was there a special "ah-hah!" moment at which the solution
became evident or a breakthrough was achieved?
A: Absolutely. This moment occurred the second we realized that the
product should act like a software client, but actually be a hardware
device. In summary, we needed to create a device that provided the
ease of use of a centrally controllable client but without the need
to install software on a computer.
Q: Has teamwork played an important role in the development
of this innovation? How have the different members of your team contributed?
A: That's the most amazing part about the group here. Every member
of our team is a significant contributor from those who create hardware,
software, test the product and support it. You can come up with ideas,
but it takes the whole team to bring an idea to life. Cisco has assembled
a team with such talent that would be almost impossible for any other
company to create.
Q: When you retire, what do you want your legacy to be?
A: I want my legacy to be someone who cared about the people I had
the opportunity to interact with and a person who made things happen
in the world. The most gratifying thing for me is finding out how
I can help others be successful in life. To me, that's even more satisfying
than coming up with ideas. I want to help others meet their goals,
making sure I'm there for them. From a technical perspective, I want
to be thought of as person who came up with ideas before they were
in fashion. Part of the idea of innovation is thinking about what
customers want, often before they know they want it.
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