IT Management: IT Admin's 'Summer Suitcase': 11 Helpful Tech Tools for Vacation

Now that the mid-summer vacation is here, IT folk are asking for time away from the J-O-B. That's why eWEEK set out to create an "IT Summer Suitcase" list of products IT administrators can take advantage of when they're on the go. Even with folks heading out of town or away from work, many still need to be available to work remotely or attend to crises occurring back at the office or data center. For assistance, eWEEK asked the product managers at SolarWinds to see which products, in addition to their own Mobile Admin, they would recommend for IT admins to take "on the go" with them this summer. SolarWinds is a developer and marketer of network, applications, virtualization and storage management software. The company sells downloadable software products that maintain, monitor and troubleshoot IT networks. It also provides several free tools relating to its core commercial products, and hosts an online community of more than 93,000 users, called thwack. Recommendations ran from SolarWinds' solutions to remote-access systems, to password managers to data rental services and more. For instance, XCom Global is on the list. XCom Global is the U.S. subsidiary of Inter Communications Co., a Tokyo-based telecommunications company that has been providing low-cost, wireless rental services for 14 years. Also making the list is iPass, which unifies the management of remote and mobile devices and connectivity. iPass provides Internet services to business users working remotely—away from their home office, region or country—by integrating Internet connectivity with management of VPN and other third-party security applications. The typical user is a mobile worker with a laptop computer, smartphone or tablet device. Founded in 1996, iPass is headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif., and maintains operations in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. iPass users can connect to more than 680,000 WiFi hotspots and Ethernet venues in more than 160 countries throughout the world. So, without further delay, here's eWEEK's list of helpful tools or services that might help you the next time you travel away from the job.