How much difference does WAN optimization make in the lives
of people around the world? If you’re a
cynic, you might think faster email and better network efficiency are pretty
minor in the big scheme of things. If
you’re a visionary, you might see many opportunities to transform the way
people and IT work in pretty major ways.
And if you’re John Lax of International Justice Mission (IJM), you would
know from experience that Riverbed can make a profound difference in the world.
“International
Justice Mission is a human rights agency that secures justice
for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent
oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with
local officials to ensure immediate victim rescue and aftercare, to prosecute
perpetrators and to promote functioning public justice systems.” Serious matters indeed.
So how does Riverbed play in this environment? John notes that their investment has had both
tangible and intangible ROI. Operating
in underdeveloped countries around the world, network bandwidth is both very
limited and very expensive. For example,
the IJM pays $1200/month for a single connection that performs at roughly 64
kbps. With Riverbed, he observes five
times greater throughput on those lines, saving him approximately
$4800/month. Another way to look at this
is equivalent to four more local staff in Uganda to do the good work.
Beyond that, John recalls the reliance on connectivity as a
real requirement for safety and security.
Fast delivery of encrypted email and files is an essential tool for
communications, especially in the face of hostile groups. John tells a harrowing story of workers in
India being attacked while investigating a rights violation. Thanks to some quick thinking and quick
email, they were able to contact remote staff and rally a rescue in time. In another incident, Riverbed visibility
tools detected corrupt police attempting to break into an IJM computer, and
again they were able to defend themselves.
Read the Forbes story.
Watch the video of John describing how Riverbed has made a real difference
at IJM around the world.
For more information on the IJM, click here.
Not everyone is faced with such stark challenges in their
daily work, but everyone can benefit from Riverbed WAN optimization.
