How VPNs are impacting every business

It doesn’t take an expert to realise that cybercrime is having an increasingly negative impact on businesses around the world. As the years go by, it will only become more of an evident issue, meaning that businesses will need to step up their efforts to keep private data out of the hands of online criminals.

Particularly as businesses across multiple industries continue to handle such large volumes of personal information, it’s becoming increasingly important to implement one of the most prominent ways of securing data – a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

As the years have gone by, popular VPN services including Private Internet Access have been progressively utilised by businesses across the globe. All you need to do is read a full review of it to see exactly why. In the following article, we’ll delve deeper into how VPNs can have a great impact on your business – regardless of the industry your business is in. Here’s everything that you need to know.

How does a VPN help a business?

VPNs are commonly used by consumers to prevent a leak of personal information or perhaps access services they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. So, what relation does this have to business users? Well, there are actually a handful of reasons why a VPN can be beneficial for a business. This includes the following:

• Increased security – prevent private data becoming subject to unauthorised access.
• Geo-unblocking – bypass filters that prevent access based on your geographical location.
• Research your competitors – anonymously perform research to improve business performance.
• Remote access – securely access information stored on your business systems from wherever you are.

Taking into account the above, it’s safe to say that a VPN’s benefits can be applied to all businesses regardless of their nature. After all, optimal security and privacy is something that all companies strive to achieve, with a failure to take the necessary precautions potentially spelling a disaster which could have been easily avoided.

A 2018 Ponemon Institute survey even indicated that 67% of SMBs admitted to falling victim to a cyber attack throughout that particular year. So, this just goes to show that using a VPN could undoubtedly make all the difference in an age where a failure to comply with data protection regulations could land you in hot water.

Optimal security is also important for businesses who need to provide remote access to private files. This is where a VPN can be used in order to establish an encrypted connection which remote workers can take full advantage of to securely access files from outside businesses premises. In turn, this helps to boost productivity and lower staffing costs by outsourcing tasks to external workers.

Break free from restrictions

As we touched upon earlier in the article, increased security isn’t the only benefit to be had from using a VPN. In the current day and age, geo-blocking practices are being increasingly implemented which means that you cannot access a particular website or service due to your geographical location.

Consumers have to deal with this on services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. So, there’s every chance that geo-restrictions could negatively impact your business too.

Thankfully, a VPN allows you to get around such restrictions, as they have a feature which enables you to change your IP address to a specific location. In turn, this makes geo-blocking a thing of the past – allowing you to access the content you want freely.

Browse anonymously

A common use for VPNs is to achieve anonymous browsing thanks to the masking of your true IP address, which just as we mentioned in the previous section, benefits consumers greatly. So, there’s certainly no reason why this couldn’t benefit your business.

For example, you may wish to perform research on your competitor’s website. Previously, it wouldn’t be possible to do this without having any prying eyes snooping in on your activity. A VPN ensures that this is no longer an issue, as you can perform all of your online tasks with complete anonymity.

Conclusion

Regardless of the industry, it’s clear that businesses around the world are handling an ever-increasing amount of personal information. This needs to be protected at all costs, particularly due to the hefty fines which businesses receive if they fail to comply with regulations such as GDPR. This means that precautions need to be taken so that private data doesn’t end up in the hands of cybercriminals, while harsh penalties can also be avoided.

By this point, you’ll be aware of just how useful a VPN can be for businesses. So, if you’ve been searching for a way to provide optimal protection for your business and your consumers, using a VPN can most definitely go a long way. At the same time, you’ll be able to bypass geo-restrictions, gain a deeper insight into your competitors, and so much more.