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IT managers say service provider option offers lower costs, less management complexity
MCI INC. last week announced new satellite links and firewall capabilities for its IP virtual private network service and said VPN deals with corporate users blossomed last year - a claim that was echoed by rivals Sprint Corp. and AT&T Corp.
Those three companies and other network service providers began feverishly marketing IP VPN services two years ago, and 2004 was a big year for customer adoption of the services, according to the carriers and industry analysts. Officials at MCI, Sprint and AT&T said the number of their VPN users tripled or nearly tripled last year, an upswing that they expect to continue this year.
MCI claimed that more than 1,000 companies are using its Private IP service, while Sprint and AT&T both said they have hundreds of customers for their offerings.
Several IT managers said the VPN services have lowered their networking costs and given them the ability to set up quality-of-service...