IPSec VPNs for Extranets: Not what you want to wake up next to
Roger Wood - February 27, 2002

Business Drivers for Extranets

The market for extranet connections is growing because corporations are motivated to:<br> <ul> <li>Extend their B2B connections to existing partners (Today, an average of only 37% of corporations are connected with their business partners, usually with basic data exchanges such as EDI VANs ^<b>(1)</b> )<br>&nbsp;</li> <li>Expand these connections beyond data exchanges to direct real-time access of data and applications<br>&nbsp;</li> <li>Connect with new partners as a result of outsourcing</li> </ul> Many corporations simply want to extend certain internal applications to business partners, treating their business partners like a special class of employee with limited privileges. The drivers for this increased connectivity are well documented for partners who have achieved deeper levels of connectivity to business partners beyond data exchange ^<b>(2)</b> :<br> <ul> <li>15-25% inventory reductions</li> <li>20-40% reductions in lead time</li> <li>Major improvements in customer loyalty</li> </ul> <i>"Companies in a supply chain react to the lack of real time information by building up their inventories as a defense mechanism. The opportunity to replace inventories with information to free up 10-15% of inventory gets the CEO or CFO interested."</i> (Internet Week May 2001) <hr size="1"> <table> <tr><td>^<b>(1)</b></td><td>Information Week Survey, September 2001</td></tr> <tr><td>^<b>(2)</b></td><td>Giga Information Group: Business Process Integration, March 2000</td></tr> </table>..