The Power of VPN and Remote Desktop

I implemented a beneficial tool recently that all sports information professionals should be aware of: VPN and Remote Desktop.

For those of you that know me, I’m not a big fan of doing tasks twice (see the Smart Reporting Initiative: http://bit.ly/d4UXAy)

I found VPN/RD because I was looking for the best solution for updating cumulative stat files.

There are many convoluted ways to update your stats remotely. They involve jump drives, ftp, etc. Given the nature of our jobs—that we cover many teams—it’s no wonder that many wait until the following morning--or Monday morning on a weekend-- to update cume stats.

VPN, or virtual private network, and remote desktop was easily setup on two of my laptops by Greensboro College IT personnel. Once installed, the technology is similar to “Go to My PC” or similar services that allow a remote computer to take over another.

My IT support people placed VPN and RD shortcut icons on my laptops. I simply click the VPN and RD icons from an Internet active computer. I enter a password and I’m browsing on my office PC from 10 miles away. I download and import the files as usual and my stats are updated.

There’s one drawback to using VPN/RD. It’s slower than normal. The technology is ideal for updating stats, grabbing photos from your hard drive but is not recommended for Adobe InDesign, or Photoshop, for example. (If you want to enter Bizarro world, watch a video on your desktop computer from your laptop at home.)

Additionally, working on a remote computer can be confusing at times. For example, the remote computer cannot read a USB drive that is connected to your laptop at home. It’s a light bulb moment when you figure this out.

In addition to statistics updates, there are many other times I’ve benefitted from VPN/RD and saved a late-night trip back to the office. Here are just a few tasks I’ve accomplished:

-Accessed and forwarded high resolution photos from my hard drive for the media.

-Accessed and updated a report on a sick day (that’s what SIDs do!).

-Caught a typo and was able to remotely update a postseason guide.

-Used Photoshop and InDesign (I know, I said it wasn’t a good option) from my laptop that does not have Creative Suite installed.

-Multi-tasked by having my desktop perform one function and a laptop do another simultaneously.

Many products claim to be the latest and greatest, but not many deliver. While VPN/RD may not be the reinvention of the wheel. However, for the SID, it’s about as noteworthy as the coming of sliced bread!

Bob Lowe, Greensboro College's assistant AD for communications, is the CoSIDA New Media-technology committee chair