As applications have migrated to the cloud and employees have demanded the flexibility to work from anywhere, maintaining a secure, efficient, and scalable network infrastructure while providing a consistent user experience has become a top priority for IT leaders.
However, many organizations are faced with a patchwork of security tools and struggle with the complexities and vulnerabilities of legacy Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which were designed for a very different era of remote computing. Network leaders are looking for clarity on how to support their businesses as they scale and grow, while reducing the attack surface that exposes their data to risk.
VP Solutions Engineering, Netskope.
Complexity brings vulnerability
VPNs have long been the backbone of secure remote access, allowing employees to connect to corporate networks from outside the physical security perimeter. In the past, when most applications were hosted on-premises in the company’s data center, this approach made sense. However, as businesses increasingly rely on cloud-based applications and services, the traditional VPN model is starting to show its design limitations.
One of the biggest challenges with older VPNs is that they can overcomplicate the infrastructure. Modern enterprises are no longer limited to one data center or geographic location. Employees can access applications and data from multiple devices and locations, creating a web of connectivity that older VPNs struggle to manage. The traditional model of routing all traffic through a central VPN concentrator adds unnecessary complexity, slows down network performance due to inefficient routing, and creates bottlenecks that frustrate users.
This is compounded by the fact that many CIOs are forced to retain existing legacy technology due to budget constraints or resistance to significant change. As a result, IT leaders often rely on expensive point products to address specific problems, rather than implementing a more holistic platform solution. This patchwork approach can be expensive and inefficient, leading to a fragmented infrastructure that is difficult to manage and prone to security vulnerabilities.
The careers of many IT leaders can depend on their ability to maintain network performance while keeping pace with the demands of the modern enterprise. Balancing these often competing priorities is no small task. To remain competitive and secure in today’s digital landscape, organizations must be willing to rethink their approach to network security and infrastructure.
From patchwork to platforms
IT leaders are aware that they need to eliminate dependence on outdated hardware. This shift includes adopting cloud computing platforms that integrate networking and security into a single, cohesive solution, rather than relying on disparate, single-purpose solutions to troubleshoot legacy systems.
By embracing a platform approach, IT leaders can streamline their infrastructure and improve overall performance. This shift not only eases the burden of maintaining legacy hardware, but also positions the organization to better adapt to the changing needs of the business. Cloud-native platforms are designed with modern networking in mind, offering features such as dynamic routing, load balancing, and traffic optimization that are critical to supporting today’s distributed workforce.
Additionally, these platforms are built to scale with the organization, allowing IT teams to easily accommodate growth without the need for constant hardware upgrades. This flexibility is especially important in a world where the pace of business is accelerating and the ability to respond quickly to new challenges can be a key differentiator.
A key benefit of moving to a cloud-native platform is simplifying cloud access for the end user. In the traditional VPN model, all traffic is routed through a central concentrator, which can lead to inefficient traffic patterns and latency. In contrast, a cloud-native approach allows traffic to be routed more directly, improving performance and providing a better user experience by bringing the cloud-on-ramp closer to the user. This is especially important in a hybrid work-from-anywhere environment.
Visibility brings confidence
One of the most compelling benefits of a cloud-native platform is the improved visibility and control it provides to IT leaders. In an older VPN environment, it can be difficult to gain a clear understanding of network traffic and to diagnose problems or identify potential security threats when the final destination is somewhere outside the corporate network. The data visibility, advanced analytics and reporting tools available through cloud-native platforms help monitor all traffic, not just the traffic going through the VPN, and plays a crucial role in security.
A zero trust security approach is based on the principle that no user or device should be trusted by default, even if it is within the network perimeter. Instead, access is granted based on an authentication process that takes into account contextual factors including the user’s location, device, role and behavior. By providing continuous visibility, cloud-native platforms can provide unparalleled contextual awareness, enforce dynamic security policies, and enable adaptive access to users, devices, applications, and data, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches. It adheres to the principle of providing only the right amount of access to the right people, under the right circumstances, through a continuous validation model.
As businesses face the limitations of legacy VPNs and outdated infrastructure, IT leaders must be prepared to embrace a transformative platform approach that brings cloud access closer to the end user, improves visibility and control, and supports a zero-trust security model. By doing this, they future-proof their digital infrastructure and create a platform that allows their business to flourish.
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