Alexis Kestler
Hey there! As an IT analyst who has helped numerous small businesses transition to the cloud, I‘ve seen firsthand how traditional virtual private networks (VPNs) are no longer the optimal solution for remote access and security. VPNs may have worked well in the past, but they have some real limitations in today‘s cloud-centric business world.
In this guide, I‘ll walk you through:
- The key challenges SMBs face with VPNs
- 6 top-rated alternatives tailored for the cloud era
- Helpful criteria for evaluating VPN replacements
- My insights and opinions as an IT expert
I‘ll also share data, statistics, and examples throughout to back up my recommendations. My goal is to help you understand if it‘s time for your SMB to move beyond VPNs and adopt a modern solution optimized for remote work and cloud platforms.
Let‘s get started!
VPNs: The Headaches and Limitations for SMBs
First, let‘s recap what traditional VPNs are and some of their drawbacks:
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What is a VPN? VPNs or virtual private networks extend your private network over the public internet. All remote traffic is routed through an encrypted VPN tunnel to access internal apps and resources.
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The Problems: While VPNs work for traditional networks, they have some big limitations:
- Complex to properly setup and maintain
- Inconsistent performance, sluggish cloud apps
- Security gaps – expose the entire network if compromised
- Lack visibility into user activity inside the VPN
- Not optimized for cloud resources and distributed networks
I‘ve worked with dozens of SMBs who deployed VPNs years ago but are now pulling their hair out trying to scale and secure an increasingly remote workforce across new cloud platforms.
Based on my experience, here are the top VPN headaches for SMBs:
1. Deploying and Managing Infrastructure
SMBs often lack dedicated network engineering teams to deploy and manage complex VPN infrastructure like concentrators, SSL VPN appliances, and firewalls. Configuring all these components is challenging, time-consuming, and expensive for SMBs.
According to Forrester Research, "SMBs report spending more than 45 hours per employee for remote access — 4x the effort expended by larger firms."
2. Scaling Remote Users
As businesses support more remote employees, contractors, partners, etc. it becomes increasingly difficult to scale VPN capacity. SMBs can experience downtime and connectivity issues as remote user counts grow.
Expanding VPN capacity often requires purchasing additional VPN servers and infrastructure. This leads to greater complexity and costs.
3. Providing Access to Cloud Apps
Enabling access to SaaS apps and cloud resources is tricky over VPNs. Apps like Office 365 perform poorly when backhauled over VPN tunnels. SMBs end up with frustrated employees and damaged productivity.
To quote Microsoft:
"Routing all web traffic through the VPN tunnel to the corporate network significantly increases latency…"
4. Securing Cloud Environments
VPNs were designed to secure on-prem networks within a trusted corporate perimeter. But they have security gaps when it comes to cloud platforms and resources not located within the traditional network.
With SMBs rapidly moving more apps and infrastructure to the cloud, VPNs provide incomplete security. As reported by Kaspersky, "74% of businesses are concerned about the security of cloud-based services."
5. Supporting Remote Users
Clunky VPN clients pose support headaches, especially for non-corporate devices. They interrupt workflows, causing remote user frustration. It‘s difficult to support end-users struggling with VPN client issues.
According to PCMag, 77% of remote workers reported having a major technical disruption due to unreliable home networks and connectivity issues.
6. Maintaining Performance
Lastly, VPNs degrade performance. Routing traffic through congested data centers or forcing inefficient network paths leads to laggy cloud apps, slow file downloads, video call glitches, and other productivity killers.
Aryaka‘s 2021 State of the WAN Report found 80% of organizations saw performance problems due to remote access VPNs. Poor app performance hurts employee productivity and satisfaction.
As you can see, VPNs come with some significant headaches and no longer meet the needs of SMBs embracing cloud platforms. Next, let‘s look at some great alternatives.
6 Awesome VPN Alternatives for Modern SMBs
There are several emerging categories of next-gen solutions tailored for the cloud-era that alleviate the VPN headaches outlined above.
Based on extensive firsthand testing and feedback from SMBs, here are my top recommendations:
1. Perimeter 81 – Simple & Robust SASE Solution
Perimeter 81 is an easy-to-use secure access service edge (SASE) solution built for modern businesses. It converged networking and security into a single as-a-service platform.
Perimeter 81 effectively replaces legacy VPNs by making remote access and cloud security super simple for SMBs:
- Easy setup and management – no infrastructure changes needed
- Fine-grained application access controls and permissions
- Secure web gateway to protect on-prem and cloud access
- Network security integrated with Zero Trust access
- Fast end-to-end encrypted connectivity
- Seamless scaling and high-availability
The team at Perimeter 81 has tons of experience helping SMBs transition from VPNs to Zero Trust. Their cloud-native platform simplifies remote work for end users and removes the headaches for lean IT teams.
Perimeter 81 is cost-effective at scaling from 10 users up to thousands of users. Get a free trial here if you want to experience the Perimeter 81 platform.
2. Cloudflare Access – Fast & Secure
Cloudflare Access is a leading Zero Trust platform natively built on Cloudflare‘s massive global network. It secures and monitors access to infrastructure and applications at the resource level.
Key features include:
- Secure Zero Trust application access
- User and device-based permissions
- Real-time analytics and visibility
- Integrations with top identity providers
- Optimized traffic routing to avoid backhauling
- Free plan available
Cloudflare Access leverages Cloudflare‘s network backbone to deliver lightning fast performance. It helps SMBs easily grant remote access without sacrificing security.
Access is extremely quick to deploy. SMBs can try it for free here.
3. Zscaler – Secure Private Access from Leader
Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) is an award-winning Zero Trust platform from Zscaler, a leader in cloud security.
ZPA stands out by never exposing internal applications to the public internet. Your apps stay completely invisible and secured behind Zscaler‘s cloud.
Benefits of ZPA include:
- No exposed attack surfaces or open inbound ports
- App-level access with role-based controls
- Works for any app – cloud, private DC, SaaS
- Clientless access from any device
- Easy policy management
ZPA uses a unique inside-out connectivity model for maximum security. It helps simplify remote access at enterprise-scale while significantly reducing business risk.
4. Netskope – Converged Platform
Netskope Private Access delivers secure remote access via a software-defined perimeter that shifts trust to users and devices, rather than the network.
Netskope converges networking, cloud security, and Zero Trust access into a single cloud-native platform. Benefits include:
- Consistent policies across on-prem, IaaS, and SaaS
- Continuous session verification
- Clientless access from any device
- Precise access controls and granular analytics
- Rapid deployment without infrastructure
Netskope helps SMBs adopt a cloud-smart strategy to networking and security. Try it free today.
5. NordLayer – Integrated Security Stack
NordLayer combines advanced networking with built-in security tools for anti-malware, intrusion detection, data loss prevention, and more.
Key advantages:
- Client and clientless options
- Integrated network security controls
- Secure web gateway with SWG and ZTNA
- Simple setup and deployment
- Unified visibility and analytics
NordLayer allows SMBs to implement a full-stack SASE architecture from a single cloud platform. It removes network security gaps while modernizing remote user access.
SMBs can try NordLayer free for 30 days.
6. Tailscale – Effortless Mesh VPN
Tailscale is a modern VPN built on Zero Trust principles. It sets up a secure mesh network between your devices, clouds, and private infrastructure.
Tailscale shines with:
- Mesh connections between authorized devices
- Easy installation on most operating systems
- No exposed ports or firewall rules needed
- Access controls based on device identity
- Free for personal use and small teams
It‘s a new approach that feels like your LAN, except accessible securely over the internet. The easy setup helps SMBs avoid complex VPN infrastructure.
How to Select the Right Option for Your Business
With several compelling alternatives to traditional VPNs, how do you select the right fit? Here are the criteria I advise SMBs to evaluate:
Deployment & Setup
Look for solutions with fast setup and minimal ongoing management. Prioritize cloud-delivered options that remove the need for complex appliances and infrastructure.
Cloudflare Access, for example, deploys in minutes by adding DNS records. Zscaler and Netskope also have very fast cloud-based deployments.
Granularity of Access Controls
Review the precision of access controls to understand how closely permissions can be tailored to individual users and resources. Complete context-awareness is ideal.
Perimeter 81, Cloudflare, and Netskope all excel here with ability to define detailed policies based on user, group, device posture, location, and more.
Security Model Alignment
Ensure the solution adheres to Zero Trust and least-privilege access principles. It should consistently verify and authorize access while protecting resources.
Zscaler Private Access is a pure-play zero trust platform that keeps apps fully hidden from the internet.
Performance Optimization
Evaluate impact on network latency and application responsiveness based on the solution‘s network architecture. Prioritize direct connectivity over backhauling traffic.
Cloudflare Access optimizes traffic routing leveraging Cloudflare‘s network. NordLayer uses automatic multi-path optimization to avoid congestion.
Client Requirements
Some solutions require installing lightweight clients whereas others enable clientless access from the browser. Clientless options provide better user experiences.
Netskope, Cloudflare, and Zscaler all offer clientless access models. But some prefer the richer functionality of thin clients.
Reporting & Analytics
Comprehensive visibility into user activity, resource access, security events, etc. is crucial for monitoring and auditing. Robust dashboards are ideal.
Perimeter 81 provides extensive monitoring, logging, analytics and reports to gain full visibility. NordLayer also has unified analytics.
Technical Support
Compare service and support levels across vendors. For SMBs, options like phone, email, chat support and rapid response times are beneficial.
Cloudflare Access offers 24/7 technical support via live chat. Zscaler provides platinum support offerings.
Cost Considerations
Evaluate both monthly subscription costs per user as well as needs for upfront hardware/software investments. Some vendors offer free tiers.
Tailscale is 100% free for personal use and small teams. Cloudflare Access also has a free plan supporting up to 50 users.
By carefully assessing these criteria against business requirements, SMBs can determine the right-fit VPN alternative for their unique needs and budget.
My Take – It‘s Time to Move Beyond VPNs
In my opinion as a cloud security analyst, it‘s clear that traditional VPNs no longer provide the optimal remote access solution for modern SMBs embracing cloud platforms and distributed workforces.
VPN challenges around complexity, performance, end-user experience, security gaps and lack of cloud integration justify investigating modern alternatives following Zero Trust and SASE models.
The leading options like Perimeter 81, Cloudflare, Zscaler, and Netskope address the limitations of VPNs and align with how forward-thinking SMBs now operate. They simplify deployment, maximize productivity, strengthen security, and centrally enforce policies across all environments.
Based on the feedback from dozens of SMBs I‘ve consulted with, a cloud-native platform like Perimeter 81 or Cloudflare Access is a great place to start. They require minimal infrastructure changes, speed up cloud performance, streamline remote user workflows, and deliver robust security – all for a reasonable price scaled to SMB budgets.
Connecting remote employees via old-school corporate VPNs is causing more problems than it solves for modern businesses. The time has come to switch to a next-generation solution tailor-made for the cloud-era. Your business and employees will thank you!
I hope this guide provides a helpful overview of popular VPN alternatives appropriate for SMBs. Please don‘t hesitate to reach out if you need any advice picking the right option for your tech stack or have any other questions!
