When it comes to protecting the privacy of your company’s data, a VPN is essential. Depending on your needs, it can provide a high level of security to your business and its customers.
What is a VPN?
The acronym “VPN” stands for virtual private network, an encrypted network that extends across the Internet and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. It’s like a secure tunnel that brings remote users into your business’ private network. All data traveling to and from your device through that tunnel will be encrypted. Only your device and the site with which it is communicating will have the keys needed to unencrypt and read the data.
VPN Applications
VPN client applications allow you to connect your router, computer and devices to a remote server that hosts the VPN service. A good VPN network will have servers in many geographical locations worldwide to handle the traffic so that users don’t experience delays or dropped connections. Once your traffic is being routed through a VPN server, the IP address of your device or network is replaced by an address being used by that server. Using a VPN network with many servers means that the IP address your device will be using will frequently change, further masking your identity and location.
Business VPN
A business VPN has several advantages. It allows you to share confidential data with anyone you want, while allowing you to keep it private. It can be used for every connection to and from your company network, including emails and storage networks. Files uploaded to the VPN are encrypted and only a company employee with the encryption key can access them. This ensures that any potential hacker cannot access your confidential data. This feature is a must-have for any business.
Protecting Customer Data
Besides securing your network, a business VPN is a great way to safeguard customer data. Businesses are increasingly moving away from the office to work from home, particularly in the contact center industry. When communicating with clients, customer service representatives frequently come into contact with a great deal of sensitive information. Because these interactions are increasingly occurring online, a VPN is an ideal solution for safeguarding your customers’ data.
When customers entrust your business with their private information, they expect you to safeguard it against hackers and other third parties. A reputable VPN is an ideal solution because it encrypts and securely transmits personal data. As a result, third parties and cybercriminals are unable to access it.
For these reasons, utilizing a VPN is an extremely effective method for businesses to safeguard and secure consumers’ data. A business VPN is scalable, which means it can scale as necessary and evolve to meet your needs. It’s also possible to upgrade your VPN system as your company grows.
Accessibility
A VPN also helps you bypass certain geographic restrictions. For example, if a customer in Europe needs help with a product, traveling to your office for training or taking your call isn’t always feasible. Allowing a customer to send questions via email can result in slow turnaround times, and not always successfully answering their questions. A VPN solution makes it possible for you to connect with customers instantly from wherever you are, making your business globally accessible.
In summary, surveillance and data breaches are facts of life these days and with the rise of cloud computing, you can’t afford security lapses that can be exploited by your cyber criminals or unscrupulous competitors. A virtual private network (VPN) is a secure network tunnel that masks and encrypts corporate data from outside threats ‐ giving data-driven businesses peace of mind as they operate and grow.
