New cybersecurity technologies and frameworks are always emerging, promising enhanced protection and streamlined operations. Among these, Security Service Edge (SSE) and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) have gained significant attention for their comprehensive approach to network security.

But despite the advent of these sophisticated solutions, enterprise VPNs still hold enduring value for data and application security. Corporate enterprise VPNs can and should remain a cornerstone of cybersecurity strategies, even alongside newer technologies.

The foundation of enterprise VPNs

Enterprise VPNs have been a staple in the cybersecurity toolkit for decades. They create a protected, encrypted tunnel for data transmission, seamlessly connecting remote users with corporate networks and keeping sensitive information safe from interception and unauthorized access. This fundamental capability addresses several critical security needs.

  • Secure remote access. VPNs enable employees to access corporate resources from anywhere in the world. This is essential for remote work, where employees must have reliable and secure access to internal applications and data.
  • Anonymity and privacy. VPNs mask the user's IP address, providing an additional layer of privacy that makes it difficult for malicious actors to track user activities or launch targeted attacks.
  • Data encryption. VPNs use robust encryption protocols, such as AES-256, to protect data in transit. Even if data is intercepted, it can't be deciphered without the encryption key.

What about SSE and SASE?

SSE and SASE represent the next generation of network security solutions, integrating multiple security functions into a unified, cloud-delivered service. Architecturally, SSE is SASE minus SD-WAN capabilities. These frameworks offer several advantages.

  • SASE combines wide-area networking (WAN) capabilities with security services, including secure web gateways (SWG), cloud access security brokers (CASB) and zero trust network access (ZTNA). This combined approach ensures that all edges of the network are protected.
  • SSE and SASE are cloud-native, providing scalability and flexibility that are unavailable with traditional on-premises solutions.
  • These frameworks emphasize identity-based access controls, ensuring access to specific resources is limited to authenticated and authorized users.

While SASE and SSE solutions offer significant security and network management benefits, their cost and complexity can be a barrier for all but the largest organizations. The need for specialized skills, high initial and ongoing investment, integration challenges and potential vendor lock-in are all factors that contribute to this complexity.

For organizations with business goals that compel them to embark on that journey, a phased approach that combines traditional VPNs with elements of SSE or SASE can provide a more manageable hybrid strategy. This approach lets you gradually adopt new technologies while maintaining the stability, economics and familiarity of existing systems.

Addressing secure remote access needs economically

Despite the advanced capabilities of SSE and SASE, for most businesses, enterprise VPNs continue to offer unique benefits that make them indispensable. For small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in particular, VPNs provide a cost-effective solution for securing remote access without significant investment in new infrastructure.

A key factor driving this growth is the increase in the number of workers outside of traditional workspaces. Research from McKinsey shows that hybrid work is here to stay, with office attendance remaining roughly 30 percent lower than it was before the pandemic.

VPNs have a long track record of reliability and effectiveness, providing a solid foundation for any cybersecurity strategy. IT professionals understand them well, and they've been extensively tested in various environments. VPNs are compatible with a wide range of devices and operating systems and are easy to integrate into existing IT environments without requiring major changes to the network architecture. Their simplicity in configuration and management enables administrators to set up granular least-privilege access controls that restrict users to only the resources they need, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.

Enterprise VPNs and SASE: complementary technologies

Rather than viewing VPNs and newer technologies like SSE and SASE as mutually exclusive, it's more productive to consider how they can complement each other over the long term. For instance, an organization might use VPNs to secure remote access for employees while eventually using SASE for broader network security and management. This hybrid approach can provide the best of both worlds, ensuring consistent security across the entire network architecture.

Modern VPN solutions are also highly adaptable and able to address an organization’s preferred deployment models, whether they be on-premises running on hardware, a hybrid of on-prem and virtual machines (VMs) or fully deployed as VMs in the cloud.

As cybersecurity threats evolve, so will the technologies designed to combat them. While SSE and SASE represent significant advancements, VPN’s fundamental principles — secure, encrypted communication and anywhere remote access — remain as relevant and effective as ever. Future developments in VPN technology, such as the integration of quantum-resistant encryption algorithms and enhanced performance capabilities, will further solidify their role. New threats are constantly emerging, making it more critical than ever to keep VPNs updated with the latest software versions and patches to avoid potential business disruption.

Enterprise VPNs have stood the test of time, providing reliable and secure data and application protection solutions. While newer frameworks like SSE and SASE offer more comprehensive security features, the enduring value of VPNs lies in their proven effectiveness, cost-efficiency, compatibility and ease of use. By leveraging the strengths of both traditional VPNs and modern security solutions, organizations can build a robust and resilient cybersecurity strategy that scales to meet their unique needs.

In the end, the goal isn't to choose one solution over the other but to integrate the best features of each to create a comprehensive security posture. As technology continues to advance, enterprise VPNs will undoubtedly remain a critical component of the cybersecurity arsenal.