For many of us, it doesn’t seem too long ago that desktop computers at home and even in the office were a novelty, and we were very happy to sacrifice the phone line whilst we waited an age for our dial up connection to kick in. Although this is a fairly recent memory, IT has evolved enormously over the course of our lifetimes, and we are now easily frustrated when a complex webpage takes more than a few seconds to load on our handheld mobile devices.
Browser speed is of even greater importance in the business world, where the sheer volume of tasks to be carried out means that both time and patience are often lacking. As such, many organisations will do all that they can to attain the quickest possible browsing speed. The objective of a VPN is not primarily to increase browsing speed, and using a VPN will not in itself achieve this, since the speed of your internet connection is determined by your internet service provider. However, there are many benefits of using a VPN, particularly with regards to the efficiency we are all striving to increase.
Remote Access
VPNs can be accessed from any and every location, which can be incredibly useful for organisations with employees who work from home or travel often, or with international offices or clients based abroad. This allows for great efficiency in several ways. Firstly, members of your organisation working from home will be able to access the company network from wherever they are based, and as such will be able to work in swift cohesion with those based in the office, as opposed to constantly having to make phone calls and send emails to share and request information. Eliminating these small but numerous daily tasks can help everyone to work more productively without the distraction of these communications, which can be avoided through the use of a VPN.
Another huge advantage of remote access is that employees who are travelling for work can access the network whilst on the move. Getting a little work done whilst on a train journey can make all the difference, leaving them and others less stressed when they eventually arrive back in the office, and can minimise the need to work late as a result of spending working hours travelling. Of course, the same principle applies to commuters, who might want to get a head start on the working day as they sit on the train every morning.
International VPNs
Perhaps an even greater benefit of using a VPN in business in the seamless connectivity they allow between international locations. This means that large organisations with multiple offices operating in various locations across the globe can access the same network from their different bases, which allows for a more integrated business framework as well as increasingly straightforward communication between international divisions of your business. For example, a company with offices both in the UK and in China may want to consider a VPN for China to ensure that the two teams work together with a great level of cohesion.
Sharing documents
One of the greatest advantages of this ease of communication brought about by using a VPN is that different members of an organisation, wherever they may be working from, can access documents via the network. This ensures a great level of security within your business, as sharing documents within a private network means they cannot be retrieved by anyone who does not have access to that private network, and so eliminates the risk posed by hackers which exists when dealing with public networks.
In short, although there are many myths about VPNs increasing browser speed, there is little evidence to support this. However, VPNs can go a long way to increase business efficiency in your organisation due to the security measures and connectivity they allow. As such, if you’re looking to cut out wasted time within your company, a VPN may well be worth considering, particularly if you have people working in different locations.