The big question for enterprises usually is – Is Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) a better solution than Virtual Private Network (VPN)?

As many of us know by now, in 2020 we saw a big flux of companies switching from office-based workplaces to remote operations. This change naturally brought a lot of attention to VPN and desktop virtualization alternatives like DaaS and VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) as ways to approach remote working in a safe desktop environment.

In the initial discussions by many companies, VPN appeared to be a more popular choice rather than DaaS, as it was an established technology in the marketplace with many known benefits. Soon after, many businesses realized that keeping their corporate networks secure for long required a more elaborate approach. VPN appeared to be an easy option, but also one that was presented with numerous drawbacks, which DaaS could easily overcome.

What actually is VPN?

 

The simplest way to explain what VPN is and how it works is by putting it in the context of corporate network security.

It acts as an extra layer to your private network, which isolates the resources shared between users on that network while blocking unauthorized access.

Once the VPN connection is enabled from the software at the endpoint devices, employees can freely access the information stored on cloud servers, dropboxes, or other storage spaces for company use from a public WAN. In a normal use case scenario where employees can directly access data through the private network on-site, VPN will not be required.

What are some of the known benefits of VPN?

 

VPN has some well-known benefits, which have been recognized by plenty of remotely operating companies around the world. Even though it does not outstrip DaaS in features and functionality, it is still providing some level of security that we will proceed with explaining below.

VPN is popular for its encryption capabilities. This means that the data that travels within the corporate network is fully encrypted and hackers cannot make any ‘good’ use of it. Adding a VPN layer protects your company data to some extent and reduces the risks of falling a victim to a data breach. Another benefit of this software-defined solution is the anonymous identities it gives to the user accessing company information.

What are the drawbacks of VPN?

 

As we mentioned previously, there are drawbacks of VPN that shouldn’t be negated by clients opting for this solution. In order to allow users to have access to VPN, companies must set up their own servers that run on their local corporate network. In addition, there must also be a VPN software installation that would allow users to actually gain access to the VPN. These two steps may seem simple, but they are rather time-consuming and challenging to implement in practice. The most important drawback to VPN from all is the compromised security capabilities of this solution which would not serve a great purpose with more advanced hacking attempts. Even though there will be some level of security, we must say that VPN is becoming more obsolete every day and it can’t compare with the efficiency of DaaS altogether.

Why choose DaaS over VPN?

 

We have discussed in previous blog posts broadly what the capabilities of DaaS are and how cloud desktops work to increase company productivity while focusing on data security. Desktop-as-a-Service transformed the desktop virtualization marketplace and it is predicted to keep its position as a market leader due to its many benefits for customers.

With DaaS, users can access their desktop workstation from any device, without the additional requirement of having a software medium to support this access. Desktop-as-a-Services allows employees to log in to their desktop environment safely from their browser only by registering their unique credentials. Cloud desktops are also the more cost-effective solution, compared to VPNs because of the lack of commitment from companies, which have zero hassles with managing and maintaining their own IT infrastructure. Cloud providers like we-IT would normally take care of all the security patches, monitoring, and software configurations to ensure that your corporate data is safe at all times!

Allowing remote access to your employees through a VPN connection is a popular choice that is also becoming rather outdated and superseded by DaaS.

To find out more about other benefits that DaaS have to offer for your business, you can get in touch with one of our representatives and we will come back to you shortly.