The release of v7.0 of the client represents a major redesign of the software, said Alberto Belgadano, a product marketing specialist for the carrier in EMEA. The drivers for the development of the new release were the need to connect to the corporate network everywhere as if you were in the office, simplicity in terms of a single interface for the connection manager and VPN, security and collaboration, with convergence of voice and data, wired and wireless, and devices, he said.

Connectivity

To this end, the new client has a simple Connect button that the basic user can click on and be into his or her session. The software hides the complexity of discovering and monitoring the availability of the different access types: wired, wireless, cellular or broadband, Belgadano said. Meanwhile the more experienced user can go into the client, for instance if they want to change the sequence of access modes over which it tries to connect.

The client does not yet offer a least-cost routing function, however, whereby it could be programmed to opt for WiFi ahead of cellular on a cost basis, or indeed for one cellular network over another because the rates are better.

The 802.11 capability, which was originally envisaged for public hotspots, hotels and the like, has been extended to the home WiFi environment. It now also extends to WLAN environments on corporate premises, such that users can access their corporate network over an AP in the cafeteria, a conference room, or indeed outside on the corporate campus, via a mesh node.

Security

On the security side, the client contains a personal firewall based on the ZoneLabs technology that is now part of Check Point, with two levels of security policy enforcement. The first is Light Weight, whereby the client monitors the status of the various security programs on the laptop (AV, anti-spyware and so on) and refuses to connect until they are all on, for instance, or Centrally Managed, which implies an extra fee for AT&T to carry out endpoint security checking, push updates and patches and enforce remediation.

Either way, the client can be launched even when the laptop is offline in order to provide status information on all the security products on the device. When the laptop is in a session, meanwhile, it also provides information on throughput, signal strength for both wired and wireless connections and the availability of hotspots in the immediate vicinity, complete with a link to Google Maps for their location.

The VPN function within the client now supports both traditional IPsec connections and SSL, said the AT&T official. We added SSL because we have customers like Accenture who have lots of consultants spending time working at their clients’ offices and needing to VPN back into their network, but IPsec won’t traverse the clients’ firewall, he said.

In the spirit of simplicity, Belgadano said, the software required to support 3G data cards is also integrated into the client, such that there is no need to launch anything separately. While in the US the cellular connectivity is provided by AT&T’s own Cingular network, elsewhere in the world AT&T has relationships with local mobile operators, from which it has an access point name (APN) connection for business services, with a dedicated gateway keeping it separate from the consumer mobile environment, he said.

We currently have 11 APNs outside the US, located in major European countries and Japan, he said, adding that the norm is for AT&T to establish APN deals with the mobile arm of the local incumbent and the number two player in each country.

AT&T is also announcing that the Global Network Client is already supporting Vista, which Belgadano said is expected to become an increasing requirement over the next couple of years as more corporate customers move to the new Microsoft OS.

The laptop client can be used on three different services from AT&T. Firstly, Business Internet, which is basic VPN connectivity to private networks. Secondly, VPN Tunneling, which is a premise-based managed VPN service, in which case it supports VPN technology from Cisco and Nortel. And, thirdly, the AT&T Network-Based IP VPN Remote Access (ANIRA), which is a network-based managed VPN service.

Smart phone and PDA client

In addition to the laptop client, AT&T is also rolling out the new version of its Mobile Client for Windows Mobile, combining an integrated dialler and VPN client with the ability to run already tested on PDAs from Dell, HP and Samsung.

Of course, WM5 and 6 are only two of the smart phone operating systems in the market and by no means the leaders. Asked whether AT&T will develop a client for Symbian, which is the clear market leader and particularly strong in Europe, Belgadano said that the company has recognized the need for one, and indeed that the team in Europe had transmitted that information to its development labs in the US. They’re aware that it is a market force, he said, without revealing any timetable for such a product.

Our View

AT&T’s remote access for laptops is a mature offering, with multiple access alternatives, even outside its own cellular footprint, while its data access for smart phones needs to be broadened beyond the Windows Mobile paradigm if it is to address the international market.

It will be interesting to see where the company goes next beyond remote access. In a sense, by adding on-premise WLAN, it has already moved beyond the remote paradigm with its VPN services.

Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is clearly on the roadmap: Martin Silman, its director of global portfolio management, says there is already a pilot running internally and he expects to have more concrete news on this front within the next couple of months.