Virtual private networks

NO HOLDS BARRED
Ike Seneres

There is nothing new about Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). What is new now is that it is already possible now for any organization, big or small to put up their own VPN, and that includes small business and big government, counting local government units (LGUs) as well.

Just a few years ago, only big business could afford to put up local and global VPNs, because only they could afford to pay for expensive leased lines, which they used to have “pipes” to run their networks. That has all changed now with the popularity of “Internet Protocol” or IP.

It was the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology that introduced most of us to the wonders of IP. Years ago when I was still the Director General of the National Computer Center (NCC), I made a prediction that in the future, most of the technology innovations will evolve around IP and the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), and it has already happened.

As it is now, IP has become the infra that runs HTML, which is really nothing more than the language that is used to create browser based content, with all its newer manifestations such as the Extensible Markup Language or XML. Many other Markup Languages are in use today.
Many of us are fascinated about broadband, often wondering what it really is. In layman terms, it is the broader infra that could carry bigger signals, as opposed to narrow band. Needless to say, broadband is faster and better. It is the broadband technology, particularly the wireless variety that is now making IP technology more ubiquitous, particularly VoIP.

Sounding hi-tech as it is, IP is actually now available to anyone that has Internet access, and this is the reason why any organization big or small could now build their own VPN, using IP as the infra. Voice is actually just one of the services that could run on IP, video, text and data being the other services among others.

What could big or small organizations do with a VPN? In the old days when IP was not yet affordable, it took a lot of money to run global messaging networks. With the entry of IP however, any organization could now interconnect their branches or operating units regardless of their locations, for as long as they have Internet access.

What is the potential of VPNs for the delivery of public services? Since VPN uses Internet technology, it is now possible for any computer, old or new to connect to a VPN, as long as Internet access is available. When I say old, I mean old and that could be as old as the 286 machines. This is just an exaggeration, because the oldest machines available in the second hand market are probably the Pentium series from 1 to 4.

For example, it is now possible to interconnect public health centers with each other, with city hall and with nearby hospitals, and even with PHILHEALTH. In the same manner, it is now possible to interconnect police stations with each other, with city hall, and with Camp Crame . The list goes on, as we include public schools and public markets, among others.

In the case of both big and small business, it is now possible to interconnect all their branches with the head office, enabling them to run their inventory, distribution and sales reporting systems, among others, including of course their point of sale POS systems.

Corruption has always been the stumbling block of good computerization, because corrupt elements would always want to buy new machines so that they could get bigger commissions. This is no longer a problem now, as government units including LGUs could now use old computers that will be donated to them. Where there is no money involved, there is no corruption.

I am now extending an invitation to anyone who reads this column. If you want to improve governance in your own locality, go ahead and solicit old computers that you could donate to health centers, public schools or police stations or wherever you like. Together with my group of volunteers, we could teach you how to interconnect these with VPNs. I am now exploring a possible cooperation with the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP). We are planning to utilize VPN technology for practical applications in good governance. You can help us if you are interested.

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