Acquisition to Boost VPN Features

Whale Communications, a developer of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) virtual private networking (VPN) solutions, is being acquired by Microsoft. Whale’s VPN products complement the VPN features of Windows Server 2003 and Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004 and offer superior security in situations where users need to access corporate applications from nonmanaged PCs, such as an Internet kiosk. However, Microsoft has not revealed specific plans for integrating Whale’s technologies into its product line.

The privately held company is headquartered in Fort Lee, NJ. No terms were disclosed.

Current Windows VPN Limitations

Organizations have a clear need to provide users, and in some cases business partners, with access to some of their server resources from the Internet. These resources include file servers, e-mail servers, Web portals, and line-of-business application servers. However, providing remote access securely is difficult because the client devices used to connect to those servers include both IT-managed PCs and unmanaged devices such as users’ home computers, Internet kiosks, Internet cafÉ PCs, and mobile devices such as smart phones.