As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, businesses around the world have quickly had to adapt to working remotely in order to continue operating. However, this transition to remote working has also led to a massive surge in business VPN use according to new research from OpenVPN.
The May 2020 OpenVPN study surveyed workers from 300 different companies across a variety of industries including technology, energy, education, healthcare, engineering and construction in order to answer the question: “Is remote work really the future?”
Businesses have begun to see that a layered approach is the best way to combat cyberattacks and a necessary component of this approach is to invest in a reputable business VPN. Even if every device used by company employees is equipped with a personal VPN, organizations still need a secure way for their workers to remotely access private network resources and securely connect to other branches and locations around the world.
- VPN usage soars across the world
- US government issues guidance for enterprises using VPN software
- Rise in remote work leads to major cloud-based VPN growth
Of those surveyed, nearly 70 percent of employees said their companies have expanded business VPN usage with 29 percent of organizations using a VPN for the first time. This represents a huge surge in the number of employees using a VPN but will they continue to do so once the pandemic subsides?
Business VPN usage
Unfortunately not all of the companies that OpenVPN surveyed are on board to continue using business VPNs in the future. Of the 21 percent of respondents whose companies have never used a VPN, 71 percent said their organizations are still neglecting to utilize this essential security tool despite switching to remote work.
This suggests that many businesses still do not have a network security plan in place for working from home even during the current crisis.
The good news however is that the companies that have started with secure remote access are almost unanimously in favor of maintaining that protocol. Of the employees surveyed, 99 percent whose companies use a VPN believe their organizations will continue to do so after the emergency phase of the pandemic is over.
This statistic suggests that business VPNs will continue to be an essential part of secure remote access in the future.
- Check out our complete list of the best business VPNs
