Traditional VPN is slow, brittle, and gives users access to everything once they connect. Modern zero-trust remote access checks identity and device on every request, only grants access to what the user actually needs, and works the same from the office, home, or a hotel.
All traffic backhauls through the office. Cloud apps run twice as slow when remote.
User logs in, they're on the office network. Compromised credentials = compromise of everything.
Once you're on, no further checks. Active session can be hijacked.
VPN client, certificates, custom config — every laptop, every new hire, hours of help-desk work.
Cloudflare Access, Zscaler, or Tailscale. Connection happens through an identity-aware proxy — no traditional VPN.
User can reach the apps they need. Nothing else. Granular at the level of individual hostnames and ports.
Block sign-ins from devices without disk encryption, current OS, or working endpoint security.
Tied to Entra ID or Okta. Same login as everything else. MFA enforced continuously, not just once.
Every access logged. Audit trail of who reached what, when, from where.
Most users install a small agent or use a browser. No certificates, no manual config.
| Traditional VPN | Zero-trust access | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Slow (backhauls) | Native cloud speed |
| Access granted | Whole network | Per-app, least privilege |
| Identity check | Once at login | Every request |
| Device check | Rare | Continuous |
| Stolen device | Full network exposure | Revoke session, done |
| User experience | Connect → wait → work | Sign in once, transparent |
| Setup per user | Hours | Minutes |
Average to reach internal apps from any location.
On every session, continuously, not just at sign-in.
Average time to onboard a new user, vs. hours for traditional VPN.
Zero-trust means nothing exposed to the public internet. Attackers have nothing to scan.
“We had Cisco VPN since 2015. Remote sales team complained constantly — slow, drops, painful. We moved to Cloudflare Access in 3 weeks. Performance complaints dropped to zero. IT got two days a week back.”
Not immediately. We typically run in parallel for 30–60 days, migrate users in batches, then decommission the VPN.
Modern zero-trust platforms tunnel TCP, UDP, and SSH too — not just HTTPS. Database admins, devops, full functionality.
Yes — especially well. Time-bound access, per-app permissions, no need to put them on your full network.
Cleanly. Per-request identity + device verification maps directly to logical access control (CC6.x for SOC 2, A.5.15-A.5.18 for ISO).
Pick 10 users. We deploy Cloudflare Access or Zscaler for them, against your real apps, for two weeks. Real measurement, real feedback, real decision data.