Today’s remote working environment security and online privacy are the top-most concerns for businesses. Many organizations and businesses use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to allow their employees to access company data and files located at remote locations from the company’s servers.

VPNs ensure that the browsing is secure and hidden from hackers and cybercriminals. However, what’s important to note is that VPNs are not perfect, and there are much more flexible and secure solutions to protect business data from cyberattacks.

In this article, we’ll see why a VPN is not ideal for your business and a few alternate solutions for VPN, such as Zero Trust VPN, that you must consider to ensure secure remote access. But first, let’s see and have a quick look at what VPN is.

What is a Virtual Private Network (VPN)?

A VPN makes using a private network connection easy by establishing an encrypted tunnel between a remote server and your network – hiding your location and identity while browsing through the internet.

In a nutshell, it prevents other users on the network from accessing your data and private information. So, why should you not go for it, and why do alternatives to VPN for remote access exist?

Disadvantages of VPNs

In remote working environments, many employees connect to private networks to access business data and information. This is why businesses use VPNs to protect their data from other users on the unsecured network.

However, here are some drawbacks of VPNs you must consider before you go for them:

  • VPNs come with security risks as the more employees have access to it, the more vulnerable your business gets to security threats, especially if they connect via public WiFi networks.
  • Many VPN providers put data limitations for VPN browsing – leading to slower connections, unproductivity, and potential security vulnerabilities.
  • VPNs are highly inflexible and are difficult to change once established.

Now that we’ve seen VPN’s limitations let’s see some of the best VPN alternatives for business.

VPN alternatives to consider for your business

Here are some of the strongest alternatives to VPN technologies to ensure the best security and data protection for your business.

1.     Identity and Access Management (IAM)

An IAM platform ensures the creation and authorisation of the identity of each user. You can pair it with your existing VPN or use it as a VPN alternative.

It implements an exhaustive verification process through multifactor authentication.

2.     Privileged Access Management (PAM)

PAM establishes privileged credentials and allows privileged users to access critical applications and systems.

This requires close monitoring and enhanced protection, considering the security risks involved.

3.     Zero Trust VPN

Zero Trust is a security model that follows the principle of “never trust, always verify.” Using a Zero Trust VPN, you can monitor and manage each user and device – inside and outside of the private network.

It also supports you to grant access to only those resources that are required.

Conclusion

Businesses of all sizes- from startups to large organisations like Peloton are switching from the traditional VPNs to their alternatives. However, while they offer data encryption, they’re not as secure and come with several security challenges.

With VPN alternatives like Zero Trust, you get better control over monitoring each user activity and access locations. Leading VPN solutions, such as InstaSafe’s Alternative VPN solutions, offer simplified and secure remote access to your cloud-based and on-premise resources. They use hyper scalable technology to replace VPN and protect cloud environments, users, applications, and servers with no hassle.