Filanet's Service Provisioning Portal is a Web-based application that provides integrated functions for network management and services provisioning on networks that use the Filanet InterJak.

by Wayne Kawamoto [August 20, 2001]

Filanet Corporation, a provider of integrated platforms and services for small and remote office networking, powered up the Filanet Service Provisioning Portal (SPP), a web-based application for network management and services provisioning.

According to the company, its Service Provisioning Portal gives service providers the ability to easily create and manage value added services on multiple InterJak devices from a central site. The InterJak is a device that allows small and remote offices to share Internet access, files and printers, and network services.

The SPP should enable service providers to automatically provision services on remotely installed platforms as well as apply policies across a base of thousands of InterJak devices.

The FilaNet InterJack is an access point device that costs less than $1000 and supports the following services:

• Traffic shaping
• Content filtering
• VPN: Both IPSEC and PPTP clients supported
• Network monitoring
• Local POP3, IMAP, SMTP e-mail
• Back-up services

Either as a hosted remote application or on a local server, the Filanet SPP is a scalable, integrated application that should let service providers take advantage of Web tools and technologies to better serve customers.

The Filanet SPP is designed to provide group management features that are easy to use, scalable to service provider needs, and incorporate open protocols and interfaces so that the application can integrate with other systems.

Filanet says that service providers can securely "push" out configuration updates to their user base or, if the user does not have a static IP address, the remote InterJak device can securely "pull" the updates as needed. The SPP also supports automatic provisioning of remote InterJak devices by downloading software and configuration updates after the remote device establishes Internet connectivity.

Some of the other features of the SPP include:

• Software distribution—distributes software updates to individual or groups of devices. The updates can be scheduled at the convenience of the user with the SPP tool logging updates to maintain service provider records.
• Service activation and billing—delivers services such as VPN or content filtering by activating a software key that automatically generates a billing record for that service This eliminates the need to key in a 25-digit character string to activate each service.
• Configuration changes—securely apply individual or group changes to devices across the network. The provisioning tool enables any local configuration parameter to be remotely applied to one or many InterJak platforms.
• Policies—defines policies that are applied across individual or groups of devices. Examples include firewall, VPN, traffic shaping, and SNMP management policies. These policies can be applied to InterJak platforms grouped by customer, location, or other user-defined parameters
• Monitoring—montiros devices and network status with an easy-to-read interface

"Service providers today are seeking means to increase their value through remotely delivered services that provide core business functions as well as features that differentiate them from the pack," says Avner Ben-Dor, Filanet's founder and CEO. "By using the Service Provisioning Portal, ISPs can tailor their deliverables to their customer's needs and, at the same time, manage all the 'business' aspects of the relationship such as billing and policy management."

"Carriers are looking for a means to provision services as efficiently as possible," says Michael Speyer, Director of Small and Medium Business Communications at Yankee Group. "Tools such as Filanet's Service Provisioning Portal, which centrally manage disparate devices, greatly increase the value that a service provider can deliver to businesses while reducing the overhead involved in high touch accounts."

The Filanet SPP can be hosted by Filanet or installed locally at a customer site. Both versions provide secure web access through secure socket layer (SSL) connections. The customer site installation requires an on-site Linux server that hosts the application.

Pricing and availability
The Filanet Service Provisioning Portal is available immediately for evaluation and is priced according to the requirements of the service provider and number of supported InterJak systems.

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