Business VPN: Why Your Company Needs One and How to Choose It
You’ve probably heard a lot about VPN services: they offer users anonymity by hiding their IP addresses (the address by which you are found). You may wonder, what does that have to do with your business needs? Well, a lot, because a business virtual private network serves a different purpose: it is a security tool. Brightworks Group offer Indianapolis IT consulting services for your business VPN needs.
With the cybercrime rate constantly growing, security becomes the main priority for businesses. A VPN is one of the tools that can help protect your data. In this article, we will discuss the benefits of virtual private networks and how to choose the right one for your company.
What is a VPN
A virtual private network, or VPN, is a solution that allows a user’s device to securely connect to a server. It creates an encrypted tunnel that allows the exchange of data while ensuring that it cannot be stolen.
A VPN is an invaluable tool for businesses with remote employees or multi-location companies. Restricting access to your company’s private data is vital, and a VPN allows you to do just that. Without such protection, your resources may be exposed and become a target for cyber-attacks.
If you store and process your clients’ data (and you probably do), the stakes rise even higher: without multi-layered protection, possible breaches may affect your customers and destroy your company’s reputation. Security measures like virtual private networks help minimize the possibility of such developments.
In the past, a typical solution to the VPN problem for businesses was running their own virtual private network. However, it was not the most effective way since you needed an on-premises server.
Running, managing, and upgrading a server costs a lot, and today there are much more affordable solutions such as business VPN services.
Types of VPN Solutions Offered By The Leading Indianapolis IT Consulting Services Provider
There are two most common types of virtual private networks that serve slightly different purposes. Here they are:
Remote Access VPN
This type of VPN allows your remote employees to connect to your company resources from anywhere in the world. Using public networks for work opens multiple opportunities for cyber-criminals and should be completely avoided.
Modern remote access VPN software is available for virtually all platforms, it is moderately priced, and there are virtually no reasons for your company not to use it.
Site-to-Site VPN
A site-to-site virtual private network is typically used when your business has multiple locations. It allows different branches to be connected in a single virtual network and exchange information securely.
How to Choose Cybersecurity Consulting Services
When it comes to choosing a VPN service for your business, the options are almost countless. There are hundreds of companies offering such services. However, not all of them are equal, we at Brightworks Group offer the best Indianpolis IT consulting services in Indiana.
Here are a few factors to consider when you choose a VPN service provider for your business:
Is the VPN well-known and trustworthy?
Unfortunately, scams are common in the VPN services market. New companies appear every day, and while some of them are totally legit, others may harm your business.
When using a VPN, you send all your data traffic across the service provider’s infrastructure, which means that they may be able to get access to it. Consider that if they are not trustworthy.
What type of encryption do they use?
AES-256 (AES stands for Advanced Encryption Standard) is probably the most common encryption algorithm used by the best VPN services today. And it’s solid, too! If a VPN service provider does not disclose their encryption method or uses out-of-date algorithms such as DES, consider it a huge red flag.
Does the VPN log or store your data?
Some free VPN services that individuals use for the sake of privacy can store and sell their users’ data – it is their way of making money.
Other services may be obliged to log user activity due to the legislation of the country from which they operate. When choosing a VPN service, make sure to take that into account. Some bigger providers undergo independent audits to prove that their no-logging policy is effective.
What is the VPN’s connection speed and uptime?
Using a VPN means adding another layer to your internet connection. The provider’s IT infrastructure becomes an important factor: if their servers are slow or unreliable, your connection speed may be affected up to the point where you cannot connect at all.
As you can see, finding the perfect VPN service provider may be tricky. If you need professional advice and help, talk to us! We are the leading Indianapolis IT consulting services for all your remote work needs.