How to choose and set up a business VPN
VPNs are so easy to use these days
Safety and security remain essential goals while online, especially when employees are conducting business activities. After all, so many businesses suffer security breaches, and these types of attacks on businesses are on the rise.
A VPN, or virtual private network is a way to route communications through a network of private servers via an encrypted tunnel, rather than just by using the public internet.
And having a business VPN established is an essential step for employees to be able to enhance their internet activities. They allow more secure communication, anonymity, and the ability to bypass geo-restrictions to be able to conduct business with ease in other countries.
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Choose your business VPN type
When talking about business VPNs, they can generally be divided into two types. The first is client-to-site, where an individual user via their PC (or other device) connects to the VPN provider, which secures the business network from the public environment. The second is site-to-site, which is for remote access VPN connections between entirely different networks.
There is also a key difference between a personal VPN and a corporate VPN. With a personal VPN, a consumer gets their individual connection to access the internet with their device. While they gain privacy, and anonymity, this does not offer the additional benefits that a business would need from their VPN connection.
Rather, with a business VPN (also known as a corporate VPN), the goal is to be able to have employees be able to connect, securely and privately to the corporate network, whether when working from home, or at a satellite location. These employees also need the privacy that an encrypted connection provides, but in addition, benefit from access to the shared resources on a corporate server, typically work files.
Business VPNs have changed
Previously, most companies set up their business VPN by running their own corporate server. This has the downsides of needing a server up and running 24/7, with the need for dedicated IT support, and the requirement of administering this network. This is referred to as an On-premises Deployment.
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The more modern solution is to outsource all of this to a cloud VPN provider. This makes things much simpler, as there is no need to run a server locally at the business, as it gets run by the provider.
Get the features you need
Not every VPN provider offers the option for a business VPN, but some larger ones do. Perimeter 81 and NordVPN Teams are two prime examples of those that do.
The offering from Perimeter 81 is excellent - particularly if you and your team tend to work frequently with multiple devices. Its zero-trust network and customizable secure systems means that security is second-to-none, while the feature list goes on and on. Plus it gives you the flexibility to choose the ideal plan for you from a number of options.
With NordVPN, its business-centric features include using existing business credentials, so there is no need to create new password credentials. It also includes priority support, that works at the speed of your business, with the promise to assist within three hours. It has a centralized control panel which allows management of every user account from a single location. Finally, it allows for secure remote access of company resources, and can protect all platforms, from phones, to computers and laptops.
Perhaps most importantly, using a business VPN from a cloud provider makes it quite simple, as they do the heavy lifting on their end.
Jonas P. DeMuro is a freelance reviewer covering wireless networking hardware.