There is no doubt that remote working offers numerous benefits regarding efficiency, productivity, and cost-effectiveness. But to reap these benefits, the right technology must be in place to support remote working. However, data sharing is the foundation that makes remote working possible for companies, with employee’s ability to work remotely being heavily reliant on how quickly and efficiently vital data and files can be accessed by those in need of such data.
One major challenge faced by businesses with employees working remotely is accessing corporate files securely. Hence, the goal is to secure network assets while ensuring employees working remotely have the ease of access as someone working in the office.
This blog explores the most common connection challenges faced by remote users and the best way to solve these issues.
VPN Limitations for Remote Working
Following the global lockdown declaration, it is understandable that most companies opted for Virtual Private Networks, the seemingly fastest connection route to keep their businesses afloat.
Many have since realized the problem with that choice. Listed below are the significant limitations of VPNs:
- Offline Editing Capability
With companies hiring cross-continent while offering the work from home option, their employees must have offline editing options. The necessity is even more pronounced for digital nomads or employees working on the go, as they are likely to suffer internet inconsistencies.
Because VPNs require an active/ dedicated connection, when remote employees can’t access the files they need to work on in a timely fashion, it leads to a massive drop in productivity.
- Leverage Content Delivery Network (CDN)
VPN traversing over a long distance is slow and fails to leverage CDN benefits such as improved uptime, reduced bandwidth, and SSL encryption, all available for HTTP-based protocols.
- Integrate With Zero Trust Security Model
Businesses widely adopt the zero-trust approach to secure valuable network assets, particularly given the rise in remote working. Meanwhile, VPNs by their nature weren’t intended for the remote workforce as it requires perimeter access/ server proximity to work effectively.
Also, VPNs are the polar opposite of the zero trust model. Zero trust implementation is mostly HTTPS-based as a gateway, intercepting HTTPS communications and prompting authentication using advanced authentication methods. VPNs grant unrestricted access to the network, expanding attack surface areas.
- Employee’s Hack Leads to Data Sprawl
Another challenge is data sprawl, whereby a user copies important files locally to maintain offline access. Not only does this lead to data inconsistencies, but it also compromises data security.
It is essential to keep data consistent even when offline, especially when working in teams. Ideally, all your data would be synced up when connected to the Internet, so changes are updated on the server and reside securely in the cloud.
- Dampens Remote Work Experience
Employee experience in remote working is crucial. As shown in Riverbed’s Future Of Work global survey, VPN logins and disconnection issues were cited as especially problematic. The disconnection from the corporate network and slow file downloads was two of the most significant problems faced by remote working respondents.
If your remote users are constantly being disconnected from the enterprise every time they try to access file shares over the Internet, they could get irritated or frustrated.
Securing the network infrastructure to support flexible working styles is necessary for businesses that are yet to implement a remote working policy. Hence, while a VPN seems like a secure way to connect multiple remote computers to the network, it is not a sustainable option.
Why Any Cloud Solution Just Won’t Cut It
With cloud computing, data stored in one place can be accessed by anyone regardless of where they are physically located. It also offers scalability, efficiency, and profitability benefits. For these reasons, migrating to the cloud is often an attractive option.
For example, migrating to cloud collaborative platforms SharePoint can be a desirable option. But such migration might not be ideal for businesses with specific data infrastructure, especially those built up over several years and spread across multiple file shares, machines, and locations. The uncertainty of the financial implication makes it cost-prohibitive for SMBs with large data sets.
How Triofox Addresses VPN and Cloud Migration Issues
Triofox is designed to give users remote access to existing file shares. It is a great cloud-enabled file sharing and syncing platform that enables secure access across all devices.
This solution is perfect for businesses that:
- Have large data sets spread across multiple servers.
- Need to enhance the remote working experience for their staff.
- Operate in AEC verticals with remote employees.
- Require a long-term and sustainable secure file and collaboration solution.
Below are some more benefits of Triofox:
Cross-Site Collaboration
When working with a team, file locking is essential for preventing versions from being accidentally overwritten or deleted. Most cloud services don’t support CAD files, but with Triofox’s mapped drive, users can access the file locking and version control features to keep track of the changes.
When working offline, files stored in the local cache are encrypted and can automatically be synchronized when the internet connection is restored.
Support for Large Files and Private File Shares
Triofox affords users the option to transfer large files as secure web links. It takes away the redundancy of copying files to an external storage service to collaborate with partners or clients. It can also integrate with Outlook to automatically convert file attachments to links, secure files with data-at-rest encryption, and transfer over SSL.
Always-On, HTTPS-Based Drive Mapping
Users no longer have to worry about being suddenly disconnected from the network, as Triofox’s mapped drive is a constant. It is simple enough that authorized users can connect to the network at any time without help or network interference.
Centralized Control Across Multiple Sites
Triofox syncs data to a global namespace. It provides desktop agents and mobile applications for a complete end-to-end access solution and simplifies the user experience. It maintains data consistency with versioning and integrates directly with Microsoft Active Directory for user and permission management.
Other advantages over VPN include:
● Eliminate network downtime and provide remote access to enterprise file shares from anywhere without a VPN.
● Reduce network spread and reduce corporate risk. Eliminate costly workarounds commonly used by remote users to access their company file server.
● Triofox provides an efficient, discreet, and cost-effective way for your remote workers to work from any location, even off-grid, by offering offline access to cached file server shares.
● Centralizes data that is spread across multiple locations and devices and can serve as a zero trust solution for remote file server access.
● Triofox combines the advantages of DFS, VPN, and cloud storage to provide a private cloud structure, offering better control over cost and security.
To get started on Triofox, sign up for a free trial or schedule a demo.