How to Enable a Remote Workforce without costly VPNs
The Remote Work and the VPN Conundrum
Over the course of the last three to four weeks, we’ve seen a historic disruption to daily life that has forced business leaders to send their workers home in hope that social distancing measures will curb the spread of the coronavirus. This unprecedented switch to mass remote work has unveiled an entirely new set of cybersecurity challenges.
VPNs or a virtual private network allow remote workers to establish a secure connection with a remote computer network. There are two key components to making this work properly:
- Network Access Server, a remote worker must connect to the NAS using unique login credentials to work remotely and share files securely.
- VPN Client Software, employees must-have software on their laptops that can maintain an encrypted connection to the VPN.
If a remote employee fails to set their VPN up properly, they might be putting an entire organization at risk to a host of cybersecurity threats. On top of the threat of human error, VPN aren’t ironclad, they break and experience downtime causing productivity to decrease and IT management costs to increase. At organizations with a small IT support staff, this can be a massive inhibitor to enabling a remote workforce quickly especially in a time of crisis.
In a time of crisis like this, Axcient x360Sync is here to help stand up a remote workforce quickly and securely without a complex system of single sign-on VPNs. So you might be asking, how is that possible?
To keep this brief, let’s just say we’ve done the hard work for you and x360Sync already has a secure VPN built-in. With the desktop client installed, you can decide to keep your file server connected to the cloud, or you can remove this connection for a complete and easy migration. Either way, you provide users with anytime-access to their cloud content without requiring an on-site or VPN connection. In short, File Server Enablement allows users to work with files stored on a legacy file server from anywhere, thus eliminating the dependence of VPN for good.
So in a time of crisis, where acting quickly and securely is of the essence a hybrid cloud solution like x360Sync (formerly Anchor) is the key to enabling a mass remote workforce quickly. Don’t believe me, take the word from a peer MSP:
On top of getting the solution spun up quickly, you’ll receive an additional benefit or see fewer inbound tickets from your clients having issues with their VPN software as they try to collaborate on files securely while remote. The last thing SMB remote workers need right now is increased frustration due to a complex VPN, they need to get back to work immediately to keep business operations running and avoid costly downtime between in-office and remote work.
We at Axcient are here to help in a time of crisis like this. We’ve taken proactive action to help MSPs transition businesses to a remote workforce VPN-free. Check out x360Sync for yourself and sign up for a no-strings-attached free trial today.
Check out some other interesting pieces from our blog:
See how Axcient delivers peace of mind when AutoVerify completes a daily thorough assessment of all drives and data to ensure cloud and on-prem backups are available and useable, we dove into how chain-based backup works and why chain-free is the way to be, take a comprehensive look at Axcient’s robust, partner-driven dedicated support, marketing materials, and free on-demand training, our CEO David Bennett explains why the current cybersecurity landscape means traditional backup is dead, or learn how you can ditch pricey on-site appliances with Local Cache for Direct-to-Cloud BCDR.
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