When it comes to providing secure and reliable remote access for a distributed workforce, organizations are often faced with choosing between legacy VPN solutions like OpenVPN Access Server or more modern alternatives like VMware VeloCloud SD-Access. While OpenVPN has been a popular choice for many businesses due to its simplicity and open-source nature, VeloCloud SD-Access stands out as a more powerful, scalable, and cost-effective solution tailored for today’s evolving enterprise needs. Let’s dive into the key benefits of VeloCloud SD-Access over OpenVPN and explore why it’s the better option for businesses looking to future-proof their remote access infrastructure.
Security Beyond Passwords: Zero Trust vs. Traditional VPN
One of the critical drawbacks of OpenVPN Access Server is its reliance on password-based authentication, which can expose organizations to potential breaches if credentials are compromised. While OpenVPN does offer encryption, it doesn’t adhere to the stringent zero-trust principles that are becoming the standard in modern security protocols.
VeloCloud SD-Access, on the other hand, is built on zero-trust network access (ZTNA), ensuring that every user and device undergoes strict posture assessment before being granted access. It verifies the identity of the user and the security status of their device (e.g., whether antivirus software is installed) before allowing access, thereby reducing the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches. This approach aligns with the needs of today’s enterprises, which face constantly evolving security threats from remote locations and distributed networks.
Performance: A Distributed Architecture for Faster Connections
Traditional VPN solutions like OpenVPN often suffer from performance bottlenecks, especially as the number of remote users increases. This is because OpenVPN uses centralized VPN concentrators, which can become choke points, leading to high latency and poor user experience as traffic is routed through these central locations.
In contrast, VeloCloud SD-Access leverages a cloud-based, distributed architecture, eliminating the need for centralized hardware. Remote traffic is intelligently routed through the closest VMware Edge Point of Presence (PoP), ensuring optimal path selection and significantly reducing latency. This distributed model allows for faster, more reliable connections, improving the user experience by bypassing the limitations of traditional VPN concentrators. Whether users are accessing applications from home, a coffee shop, or a different country, they can enjoy seamless connectivity and higher productivity.
Operational Simplicity: Automation and AIOps
Managing and maintaining VPN infrastructure can be a complex and resource-intensive task for IT teams. With OpenVPN, organizations need to ensure VPN Access Servers are properly scaled, updated, and maintained with the latest security patches. These operational tasks can quickly become overwhelming, especially for businesses with a growing number of remote workers.
VeloCloud SD-Access simplifies operations through automated setup and integrated AIOps capabilities. It takes just minutes to deploy, eliminating the need for time-consuming hardware installations and software patches. AIOps allows IT teams to proactively monitor the network, identify issues before they affect users, and in many cases, automatically resolve problems without human intervention. This level of automation not only reduces the operational burden but also minimizes downtime and ensures a smoother user experience.
Scalability: Cloud-First, Future-Proof Infrastructure
One of the biggest challenges organizations face with legacy VPN solutions like OpenVPN is their limited scalability. As more remote users connect, VPN gateways can struggle to handle the increased load, leading to performance degradation and frustrated users. Expanding the capacity of these systems often requires costly hardware upgrades and additional infrastructure.
VeloCloud SD-Access is designed with scalability in mind, allowing businesses to easily support large numbers of remote users and devices without the need for additional hardware investments. Its cloud-first infrastructure ensures that the service can scale up or down to meet business demands, making it a future-proof solution for enterprises that expect continued growth in remote work and distributed teams.
Cost-Effectiveness: Save up to 70% with VeloCloud SD-Access
Beyond its superior security, performance, and scalability, VeloCloud SD-Access is also far more cost-effective than OpenVPN Access Server. By eliminating the need for expensive hardware (such as VPN concentrators), and reducing the operational costs associated with maintenance, scaling, and troubleshooting, SD-Access offers businesses an estimated 70% cost savings over traditional VPN solutions. This makes it an ideal choice for companies looking to optimize both their budget and their network infrastructure.
Try VeloCloud SD-Access for Free with Digital Carbon
If your organization is ready to upgrade its remote access capabilities, there’s no better time to explore what VeloCloud SD-Access can offer. As a leading Managed Service Provider (MSP), Digital Carbon is offering businesses the opportunity to test VeloCloud SD-Access free for 3 months. This free trial allows companies to experience the full power of SD-Access without any upfront costs, making it easier than ever to evaluate how it can enhance remote connectivity, security, and user experience.
Ready to make the switch? To learn more download the VMware VeloCloud SD-Access Solution Overview or to get started, book a discovery call with one of our expert consultants today by visiting this link: https://digitalcarbon.io/book-a-discovery-call/.
With VMware VeloCloud SD-Access, your business can achieve secure, high-performance remote access at a fraction of the cost of traditional VPN solutions like OpenVPN, all while enjoying seamless scalability and superior security for the modern distributed workforce.
