Best VPNs for small businesses shifting to a remote workforce

A VPN (virtual private network) is a network technology primarily meant to protect your online security and privacy. A VPN can enable a secure network connection across a public network such as the Internet or on a private network owned by any organization or service provider. While a large number of companies across the globe usually work on the Internet, they still have various secure channels or resources that can be accessed only on their private network or intranet. Because security is a top priority for every company — especially considering the growing security risks and cyberattacks — having a stable and secure VPN channel has become very crucial. While most big companies have dedicated network security infrastructure, small companies struggle to secure their data and network. Now that many companies have switched to work from home policies due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, VPNs play a prominent role in keeping the businesses alive, up, and functioning. Employees working from remote locations need to rely on VPNs to establish a connection to their office network to do work or to access resources. Fortunately, there are several strong, secure, and reliable VPNs available for small businesses that are a breeze to set up and configure.

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SurfShark

SurfShark is a relatively new VPN provider that offers exceptional services in addition to serving as a VPN for your company. SurfShark offers a ton of features such as CleanWeb to prevent malware or phishing, AES-256 encryption, and a kill switch to disconnect you from the Internet automatically if your VPN connection drops.

Unlike many VPN services, you will not have to buy a license per device. Instead, with SurfShark one subscription is enough to cover all your gadgets. So essentially, you only pay $1.99 per month per subscription billed annually and allows unlimited devices. It runs on multiple platforms such as Windows and macOS and is pretty easy to use and connect.

NordVPN

NordVPN is one of the most widely known VPN services. It is known for its features, top speeds, and unfortunately, also because of a breach last year.

NordVPN offers over 5,600 servers located at various geographical locations for speed, reliability, and security. The VPN service comes with CyberSec technology, a kill switch, and offers an AES 256-bit powered secure encryption connections. For privacy purposes, it has a no-log policy, private access, and IP protection to hide your IP address and location.

It comes with three different plans: a monthly plan for $11.95 per month per account, a one-year plan for $6.99 per account, and a three-year plan for $3.49 per month per account.

Perimeter 81

Perimeter 81 is one of the finest available VPNs for small businesses. It comes with 256-bit bank-level encryption, securing the company from various cyberattacks and threats. With almost all applications and services moving to the cloud, most companies are also running their businesses based on the cloud. Perimeter 81 comes with a completely cloud-based management portal that allows the company to manage and control the VPN setup from anywhere in the world.

Some of the features of Perimeter 81 are endpoint management, filtering network traffic, whitelisting/blacklisting, and unlimited bandwidth. Perimeter 81 has several easy-to-use client applications compatible with Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, and browsers.

Perimeter 81 has three price plans — Essentials, Premium, and Enterprise. The prices start at $8 per month, billed annually. For more information on pricing and features, click here.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is one of the giants when it comes to providing VPN and content access. With coverage for over 94 countries and 160 different geographical locations, ExpressVPN offers several features for different types of users.

ExpressVPN has a very simple interface that is relatively easy to use. It also offers a strong privacy policy, suitable for SMBs. The service is available on various platforms including Windows, Mac OS, Android, Linux, iOS, gaming consoles, and even smart TVs. ExpressVPN packs in zero-knowledge DNS, kill switch, AES-256 encryption, VPN split tunneling, and more.

However, it is fairly expensive ($12.95 per month per account). But the price is reduced when you choose a six- or a 12-month plan.

encrypt.me

encrypt.me business VPN is one of the best choices for small companies and businesses with users with multiple devices. The service supports an unlimited number of devices per single account. The service is available on all the major platforms such as iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows.

encrypt.me allows companies to deploy private endpoints for better security. It is partly open source, which means companies can run their private endpoints by publishing the code. No shared IP addresses, a fully managed endpoints along with the company’s claim of 100 percent uptime are some of the interesting features of this VPN service.

It is available for users in an unlimited plan with an unlimited number of devices for $9.99 per month or an annual unlimited plan for $99.99.

VPNs for small businesses: A must for security

In the current IT world, you never know who is monitoring your activities online, so for small businesses, it pays to spend a little amount on VPNs for privacy and security. Also, considering the current COVID-19 situation, using VPNs is more important than ever before to accommodate security as well as work from home scenarios.

Featured image: Freepik / Technology vector created by vectorpouch

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