DoIT’s “Always On” virtual private network simplifies remote work for efficiency and peace of mind.
Ever feel the quality of food from a restaurant is not the same when you get it to go as when you dine in? In the same way, when you need to work away from the office, you would like to work with the same ease of access as when you are in the office. That has not always been easy for student affairs staff who sometimes have to work elsewhere.
Besides the obvious challenges of accessing shared office resources when working remotely, additional layers of complexity are necessary to maintain appropriate security for information resources. Texas A&M’s virtual private network (VPN) service offers a way to maintain security, but many users find it cumbersome. The time and number of clicks required to connect to the VPN with password and two-factor authentication to get a secured tunnel to the campus network to be able to remotely connect to a desktop computer in the office that requires additional login credentials seems like a lot of work simply to access a file on a departmental file share.
Though less than ideal, the VPN service has provided a limited means to keep up with office work while away for a few days at a conference.
Technology Services – Student Affairs has continually sought to improve the remote work experience. For several years our remote apps gateway offered a simpler way to securely connect to your office desktop without needing a separate VPN connection. However, even with the easier connection, using remote desktop services felt like having to reach your arms through a window to work inside your office.
Three years ago Technology Services – Student Affairs began investigating a new service to better balance security needs with usability. The Always On VPN service became available with the roll out of Windows 10. By the time everyone had to start working from home in 2020, this service was already fully deployed. More than 370 mobile student affairs devices are now configured with Always On VPN.
Instead of connecting to your office desktop, this service allows your Windows mobile device to work like your primary device with direct access to file shares and more as it automatically maintains a secure network connection in the background. This arrangement also lets Technology Services – Student Affairs push updates to the remote mobile device so you don’t have to bring it into the office.
Although most student affairs staff are now working in the office, for many, the ability to work efficiently while remote is still important. As conferences resume in person, many staff members need to work while away for a few days. Others may need to jump on the network on evenings or weekends to attend to scheduled or emergency projects. For some staff the value of working remotely goes even further.
Rick Greig, senior associate director in the Memorial Student Center, understands this well. Not only must he sometimes work from home, he also takes his office with him on longer trips across the nation and as far away as Italy. He appreciates the improvements made for working remotely. “Always On VPN prevents the frustration of using the campus VPN. When I get home, to a hotel, or if I am in Italy, I use the network very heavily.”
Since 1970 the MSC has been taking qualified Texas A&M students who are interested in pursuing law or MBA degrees to visit top schools in places like Chicago, Boston, New Haven, New York, and Philadelphia. The MSC J. Wayne Stark Northeast Tour continues the vision of Stark, the MSC’s first director, who challenged students to expand their horizons, career opportunities, and to experience the world. Rick will again be accompanying the students again for 10 days in January as they visit the schools and network with former students along the way.
Since 1992 the MSC has annually hosted about 30 of Texas A&M’s top incoming freshmen each year at the university’s Santa Chiara Study Center in Italy. In partnership with LAUNCH, the MSC Conway-Fitzhugh International Honors Leadership Seminar is designed to prepare incoming freshmen to maximize the educational opportunities at Texas A&M. When he travels with them again this next year, Rick must be able to work online from central Italy.
To further improve remote support, Technology Services – Student Affairs implemented a cloud management gateway last spring. Located outside the Texas A&M firewall, the gateway is a trusted go-between that has special access to relay requests from mobile devices on insecure networks to the secured services inside the firewall. It allows remote devices to “phone home” for software updates and more. While Rick is in Italy for three weeks, his laptop will be able to automatically receive security updates, despite being 5,600 miles away from the IT service desk in the Koldus Building.
The trip occurs in late summer when Rick is also preparing for the start of the fall term. Thus, shared access to office files is critical. There may be a great view out the window, but he won’t have to feel as if he is physically reaching through a window to his office on campus.
We can now deliver quality service halfway around the world, but we still need a way to maintain food quality if we ask Rick to bring back some wonderful Italian gelato.
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Learn more about the MSC Stark Northeast Tour and the MSC Conway-Fitzhugh International Honors Leadership Seminar.
