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Howin Technologies Corporation Selects
BiGuard SSL VPN for Branch Remote Access
Enhancing Remote Access Security and Connectivity Performance
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An Expert in Telecom Engineering Systems
Howin Technologies Corporation, which used to be a subsidiary of the Taiwan Fixed Network group, is one of the largest professional telecom engineering companies in Taiwan. Its core business lies in the integrated design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of telecom systems. The company serves many prominent corporate clients including Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation, Taiwan Power Company, and National Taiwan University. Independently operating from November 2000, Howin serves as a link between end customers and telecom operators by delivering telecom applications to every corner of Taiwan, as well as providing uninterrupted telecom services to both residential and business users. |
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Howin Technologies Profile |
| Business Type: Telecom engineering company |
| Location: Headquarter in Taipei, Taiwan |
| Employees: 50 |
| Solution: BiGuard S20 VPN Security Gateway |
| SSL VPN users: traveling staff, engineering-site employees |
| SSL VPN Applications: Network Extender, ERP systems access, file servers, intranet resources, maintenance of remote information systems |
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Concerns on Remote Access and Security |
Since Howin mainly provides implementation services of
telecom equipment, its customers are dispersed throughout the
country. To cope with the long project implementation lead time,
Howin has set up engineering sites in all major cities to facilitate the project management. “In the early days,
each site was connected via ADSL so that all branch employees could access Web mail, ERP systems, file
servers, and other network resources hosted at Taipei head office. However, there was no encryption for the
remote access, and dedicated staff was required for maintaining the ADSL lines. What made things worse is
that the outdated firewalls at the head office were out of warranty. The unprotected remote access made the
corporate network a target for viruses, hacker attacks, and compromise of data confidentiality. Moreover, the
two network links at the head office were not used properly. One was usually fully loaded, while the other only
bore 10% of traffic. Taking both network security and bandwidth management into consideration, we expected
to address those issues with a new network solution,” said David Lin, Assistant Manager of the IT Department. |
 Key factors to the introduction of BILLION BiGuard SSL VPN |
When Howin searched for a remote access solution, it evaluated products from a number of vendors,
including some top international brands. After considering all the requirements, and after three months of
field testing, Howin decided to take Billion’s BiGuard S20 Dual-WAN SSL/IPSec VPN Security Gateway. “Functions, performance, and cost were key factors in the purchase decision of the BiGuard S20 SSL VPN
Security Gateway,” said David Lin.
3-in-1 Dual-WAN Solution
“The most remarkable feature of Billion BiGuard S20 is that it integrates three functions – SSL VPN encryption, firewall, and router – into one single security
gateway. This eliminates the need to buy extra ndividual equipment for our IT administrators to manage all network links and remote access. Moreover, the
BiGuard S20’s built-in dual WAN ports offers Load Balancing functions to distribute network traffic on the two links evenly, thus we can efficiently manage the
network bandwidth. If one link breaks, the auto fail-over function can shift the traffic over to the other line, so that the integrity of the corporate network is assured,”
said David Lin, elaborating on the powerful functions of the BiGuard S20.
Support ERP Access
“Besides, the BiGuard S20 VPN supports Data System Consulting’s (DSC) ERP systems (Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP). Therefore, the staff from engineering
sites and remote users can access DSC COSMOS ERP systems via the BiGuard S20 SSL VPN Security Gateway. That’s one of the main reasons why we
chose the BiGuard S20.” David Lin comments.
Professional and Sincere Services
David Lin also comments very positively on the support services that Billion’s authorized distributor in Taiwan, Sipro Technologies, provides. “No matter if it’s about
enquiries, product testing, or field implementation, when we have issues on product operations or seek technical support, Sipro Technologies always solves our
problems promptly. I’m very satisfied with their consistent, professional, and sincere service,” said David Lin.
| Benefits |
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The solution with Billion’s BiGuard S20 VPN overcomes the problems Howin had encountered on network connectivity and remote access. “Now, our engineering-site staff can securely access resources hosted at Taipei head office anytime, and obtain vital information that they need to implement telecom engineering projects,” explains David Lin. Howin benefits from deploying the BiGuard S20 solution in three key ways: |
Easy Phase-in, Replacing the Existing Firewall
Working as just an SSL VPN concentrator, the BiGuard S20 can be placed behind an existing firewall. It is completely compatible with existing firewall functions,
and doesn’t affect current VPN connections. Consequently, there is no need to modify the existing network structure and configuration to phase in the BiGuard
S20. To make the system more effective, the BiGuard S20 can replace the existing firewall when the time is right. Howin needs only one single network device to
address multiple requirements on corporate remote access. This results in much shorter lead time in phasing-in the solution.
Single Device, Easy Management
Originally, Howin’s IT administrators planned to purchase three devices – firewall, load balancer, and an SSL VPN gateway – in order to meet the requirements.
Now, with the 3-in-1 solution of the Billion BiGuard S20 VPN, not only is the management efficiency on configuration optimization, collaboration among different
functions, maintenance, and troubleshooting is clearly much better than managing multiple devices, but also access security that BiGuard S20 provides with a
variety of SSL VPN access applications, which can be configured for different users at different access policies. In addition, the user-friendly web-based interface
of the BiGuard S20 is simple to use, making configuration easy and fast for IT administrators.
Economical, Saving Management Cost
Compared to other SSL VPN Security Gateways which might cost hundreds of thousands New Taiwan dollars, the BiGuard S20 SSL VPN is a cost-effective
solution for small and medium businesses. Not only with the integrated IPSec VPN technology for up to 30 IPSec VPN tunnels, it also supports up to 20 concurrent
SSL VPN users. The BiGuard S20 SSL VPN Security Gateway also supports the BiGuard OTP dynamic password mechanism, which enhances remote access security with two-factor authentication. Furthermore, it requires no extra load balancer or a firewall device, reducing the cost on network implementation and
maintenance as well as sparing the time/cost on managing and maintaining multiple devices.
| SSL VPN applications |
The BiGuard S20 SSL VPN Security Gateway offers comprehensive SSL VPN applications, such as Network Extender, Transport Extender, Network Places, and
Application Proxy. Using Network Extender, Howin’s IT administrators can access the central networks to update the information systems and maintain equipment
from remote sites. Traveling salespersons and engineering-site staff can take advantage of Network Extender by remotely accessing emails, file servers, intranet
resources, and ERP systems in the central office.
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SSL VPN Case Studies for Telecommunications Industry 
English version