That said, preventing online data leaks by implementing new technologies and tools is what digital businesses are looking for these days. Big businesses with enough resources might be in a safer harbor as they can deploy a wide range of security solutions like private VPNs. But what about small and medium-sized businesses? Cybercrooks, in fact, target more SMBs owing to their digital vulnerabilities. A survey reflects that 46% of SMBs have been victims of ransomware attacks, while 73% of them admitted paying the ransom to recover their sensitive data. So, how are they going to survive from such catastrophic circumstances? One way of protecting your business could be through a reliable VPN. Here, you have two options – in-house OpenVPN that requires continuous administration and another, a trusted VPN solution. As you are still in the growth stage, leverage a reliable VPN solution even with a limited budget, and let them take care of security aspects while you focus more on productivity. But before that, let’s understand all about VPNs and how it can help your business.
What if you don’t use a VPN?
All the data that you send through the Internet is out there open with no protection, without a VPN. Consequently, cybercriminals may see your data in transit, which becomes easy for them to trace, identify, and reach the IP address of your device. It could affect you severely if hackers can expose your sensitive information and launch cyberattacks. But with a VPN, you can secure all your online interactions as it creates a safe, virtual network. It routes your requests and then connects with an intended server instead of reaching directly. VPN software encrypts your entire data request before your ISP receives them while ensuring malware and hackers cannot see your data.
Why do businesses need VPNs?
Many reasons justify the need for SMBs to leverage VPNs. Here are some of the use cases:
Remote Workforce 👩💻
Many businesses now have employees or freelancers working remotely from different locations and may use devices with an unsecured network.
Additional security layer 🔐
Some businesses still use HTTP, so get secured when your employees visit any kind of web page with either HTTP or HTTPS.
Employees traveling for your business ✈️
When you send your employees to another location for consulting, after-sales activities, or other business work, they may use public Wi-Fi, which escalates security risks. At this time, a private VPN helps.
BYOD policy 🐱💻
Many SMBs have a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) option for their employees. It can reduce infrastructural costs but may increase security risks because they can access the Internet from an unsecured network on their own devices.
Avoid geo-restrictions 🚫
You can find certain databases and websites that you cannot access from your country of residence directly. But those resources might be beneficial to your business. At this time, you can use a VPN that can bypass geo-restrictions by concealing access requests. As a result, your access request might appear to originate from such an IP address located in an unrestricted area. Hence, you can easily access the database or website and use it for your business favor.
Budget-friendly 💰
One of the biggest challenges of SMBs is limited resources. They need to be extra cautious while investing in something so they can make the most out of it. Fortunately, there are a plethora of options available for VPN tools, and the best part – they are budget-friendly that SMBs can afford. You can get these tools even at less than $10 to support anywhere between 1-10 devices.
Perimeter 81
Protect your valuable data with the smart business cloud VPN by Perimeter 81. It provides you with blazing-fast private servers tailored to your business requirements along with static IPs to secure the resource access of your teams. Manage your team efficiently by adding them to your network with ease and create user groups. You can also manage team access using its seamless management portal. It allows you to monitor your network activity comprehensively while getting the full network visibility to get the bigger picture. You can identify network anomalies, supervise bandwidth consumption, and check resource access. Perimeter 81 features a 1-click installation of client applications on any of your devices. With single sign-on, you can run a variety of applications compatible with Mac, Windows, Chrome, iPhone, and Android. Conduct QA testing effectively and access the Internet quickly without geo-restrictions. Perimeter 81 protects your data and mobile workforce through 256-bit bank-standard encryption. It offers innovative and auto Wi-Fi security along with DNS filtering, which can shield your data by activating VPNs automatically. Leverage the power of the cloud and take benefits of the unique, hardware-free service that Perimeter 81 offers. It offers cost-effective delivery and hardware installation. It supports network expansion easily through the scalable framework in addition to on-premise or cloud deployments like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. You can launch VPN endpoints in virtual or physical locations for greater transfer speeds while keeping close to your employees.
NordLayer
Enjoy a fully protected network and access your business data securely anytime, anywhere with NordLayer. It provides digital protection leveraging innovative technology to let you control your network. Using a centralized dashboard, you can manage your user accounts, create gateways, and control access permissions seamlessly. Protect your data on multiple devices with a single click. NordVPN encrypts Internet traffic using AES 256-bit top security encryption to safeguard your online interaction and privacy. Its scalable platform lets you manage your team and business with its growth. You can easily add new user licenses, company gateways, and dedicated servers. The server network of NordVPN is broad and is available around the world in 31 countries. It empowers your teams so they can explore content from anywhere and ensure optimum performance. It also offers you with a centralized billing that allows paying for the different services at the same time. Connect to the Internet with a high level of safety from any device you use, including macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android devices. NordVPN provides you with a kill switch that cuts off the entire internet connection from your device to ensure no data exposes online. Using NordVPN is easy. You can log in directly with GSuite, Azure AD, OneLogin, Sami, and Okta. The service provider is also going to add one more feature in the coming days – Two-factor authentication. It adds an added security layer, and you can access the app with Authy, Google Authenticator, or other phone-based authentication. With its Activity log, you can check your online coworkers along with the online gateways they are using. NordVPN offers priority support to help you within 3 hours in case you come across any difficulty. Reach out to them through any mode preferable – call, live chat, or email.
GoodAccess
With its zero-trust architecture, GoodAccess can be your weapon of choice to protect your workforce and applications from hidden internet dangers. This is loaded with identity-based permissions, industry-leading encryption, and global VPN gateways to protect sensitive data from snoopers. GoodAccess’s intuitive dashboard allows superior control over your corporate network from a single screen. It powers you to launch a custom gateway with a dedicated IP address from 33+ global locations. Besides, inviting team members and adding devices to your company network is effortless. Subsequently, the administrator can add the company services to the application for quick and secure access by all team members. And the access logs provide a bird’s view of the teammates using different systems with timestamps, data transfer, etc. Finally, GoodAccess has a free forever tier and offers a 14-day trial of its paid subscriptions.
PureVPN
Avail the top-level protection from PureVPN to safeguard your business data and reputation. It offers a private and secure global network consisting of 2000+ extremely-fast VPN servers located in over 140 countries. PureVPN provides military-grade encryption to secure all your business information from cybercrooks. Transfer your sensitive data and secure your data while using Wi-Fi hotspots. Gain insights on how your website, applications, or products looks like while accessing them from other countries. It lets you break Internet limitations and geo-restrictions so you can access online services and even blocked content from anywhere on the globe. PureVPN provides dedicated IPs for your business from 8 countries in order to empower your workforce with secure FTP access. PureVPN offers safe remote access so you can safeguard your sensitive resources such as application dashboards, file servers, and more. Using IP protection and 256-bit encryption, the VPN provider secures your web and data. It gives you the option of IP whitelisting to restrict access through a single IP address. It also offers 2-factor authentication. Managing user accounts is also easy with its control panel. PureVPN offers a 31-day money-back guarantee in case you are not satisfied with its services.
Ivacy
Stay secure online using the reliable business VPN by Ivacy. It is prompt in server deployment in specific regions where you want to expand your business. It provides a multitude of dedicated IP addresses and restricts other IPs to protect your network. Iavcy’s native applications require single sign-on and are compatible with multiple devices, including Linux, Chrome, Android, Mac, and iOS. Secure your cloud-based and in-house resources, protect your cloud environments, company database, and staging servers using its business VPNs. Ivacy provides powerful user administration from a single portal to manage and configure enterprise VPN licenses. Enable your employees to access secure Wi-Fi to mitigate internet threats so they can be invisible while using public Wi-Fi. For securing your precious data, it employs 256-bit military-standard encryption to make sure nobody can snoop-in. Walk past geo-restrictions to spread your business wings around the world using private VPNs. Ivacy strictly adheres with a no-log policy where it does not trace the online activities of its users and gives them complete privacy.
VyprVPN
Get enhanced security, privacy, and freedom of internet browsing with VyprVPN whenever you send emails, share files, access online resources, and engage in office chats. It does not matter whether you are in your office, outside the office, or traveling; its business VPN is there to protect your data. Access essential business tools online from anywhere in the world by leveraging the restriction-free VPNs of VyprVPN. Using Wi-Fi networking is no more intimidating if the secure VPN is by your side, not even your network providers can view your browsing data. Access tools beneficial for your business, such as Google Apps, VOIP services, and more even if you reside in restricted locations like China. Deploying and running takes no time, so you can get started in minutes. VyprVPN provides simple and useful applications that you can use in multiple devices and platforms. Its R&D teams have engineered their VPNs to deliver extremely fast performance without compromising security. VyprVPN owns and manages 100% of its servers, network, hardware, and DNS with no third-party involved in order to ensure optimum privacy, security, and deliverability. Connect and utilize its servers anytime with unlimited broadband without any restrictions or extra charge. Enjoy an additional security layer with NAT Firewall for your VPN connection to block unrequested traffic. It offers a VPN protocol – Chameleon that combats censorship to deliver open and free Internet available to you. It also offers a DNS protection – VpyrDNS to safeguard your network from internet threats and never logs DNS requests. They got servers in 70+ locations worldwide with 200,000+ IP addresses. It also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
TunnelBear
Empower your teams with high-level security that TunnelBear Offers. It can detect and inform in case any of your team members connect to a less secure or harmful network before it causes any trouble. With strong encryption of AES 256-bit, it keeps your network safe. Access the VPNs from Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows trouble-free. Manage your team like a pro using its admin console where you can also view invoices, and edit billing data. TunnelBear undergoes comprehensive security audits every year conducted by independent and impartial security firms. You can also read their latest audit along with encryption standards from their website. They have a no-logging policy; hence, all your browsing data stays private. Its Vigilant mode blocks unsecured traffic if your network gets disrupted. You can use the Closest Tunnel to find the country you want to establish a connection with. TunnelBear has a network of fast performing servers located in 20+ countries to grow your business. The VPN provider offers GhostBear to fight off VPN blocking, so you can access the Internet from anywhere in the world.
Tailscale
Tailscale is a peer-to-peer VPN service aimed at radically simplifying private connections. It takes away the pain of configuring firewalls or setting up port-forwarding. This provides encrypted connections within a private network without any centralized servers, unlike conventional VPNs. And you can also integrate Tailscale with your existing user authentication platforms. Every device on the network gets a static IP address irrespective of the local network. Tailscale also supports access-controlled connections with the logging activity visible at the dashboard and logging API. It’s built on top of WireGuard VPN Protocol and supports auto-key rotation for robust security. Finally, its existing customers laud it for a free-forever plan, dead-easy configuration, and scalability.
Conclusion
Rapidly growing cybercrimes has become one of the most challenging aspects of modern businesses. While big enterprises have deep pockets to safeguard their data, SMBs still struggle over it. Alternatively, you may consider going for self-hosted VPN software which will be slightly cheaper. But don’t worry; utilize the above-mentioned private business VPNs to keep your online data secure and private while mitigating online threats so you can only focus on your business growth and find peace of mind. You may also want to explore antivirus for business.
