As companies transition their IT infrastructure from on-premises to the cloud, leveraging AWS's flexibility, the need for secure and efficient remote access solutions remains paramount. This is especially true to support the growing number of hybrid and remote workers who require seamless remote access to AWS-hosted applications and infrastructure.
While Amazon's built-in AWS VPN services may appear to be the most straightforward choice, they often fail to provide the high performance demanded by today's remote workforce when accessing AWS-hosted applications. It's essential for IT teams to explore other remote access options that deliver superior performance without compromising security.
What AWS VPN Services Are Available?
AWS provides several VPN and VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) connection methods. On the VPN front, these are:
- AWS Client VPN—This service is used for remote user access to AWS resources and on-premises networks. It requires a client install on devices.
- AWS Site-to-Site VPN - Connect an entire on-premises network (data center, branch office, etc.) to an AWS VPC.
For VPC connectivity, AWS provides these VPN services:
- AWS VPN CloudHub - Enables the setup and management of a hub-and-spoke model to connect multiple branch offices (or other remote sites) via the AWS cloud.
- Amazon VPC Peering - Allows one VPC to connect with another via a direct network route using private IP addresses. Note that this is not a VPN tunnel, and the connection is not encrypted by default!
- AWS Transit Gateway - Simplifies connectivity of multiple VPCs and on-premises environments through a central AWS hub.
Issues That May Occur with the AWS-Provided VPN Services
The AWS VPN (and VPC) services have the same problems as other VPN solutions. Issues arise when using media-rich applications like video conferencing solutions or collaborating with remote colleagues on large files that need to be shared. Common problems end users often experience with VPN solutions include video pixelation, audio dropouts, and slow file transfers.
Issues with VPN services highlight the necessity for fast, reliable remote access for today's hybrid and remote workers and clients. Assuming the AWS VPN service will deliver these needs without the issues of other VPN solutions is a mistake that can hamper productivity and collaboration in organizations that have adopted AWS-based infrastructure.
The Cloudbrink Alternative
Cloudbrink Hybrid Access-as-a-Service (HAaaS) was designed, developed, and architected as a VPN replacement to deliver the fast, reliable connectivity modern applications require without compromising security. HAaaS addresses and resolves the common issues experienced with VPN-based remote access and collaboration.
Optimized for high performance for modern applications and collaboration solutions, HAaaS delivers smooth connectivity regardless of user counts or locations. At the heart of HAaaS is a global network of FAST Edge points of presence (POP) that are strategically located in numerous cloud data centers. This POP network ensures reliable connectivity for all users, especially over the last mile of a user's connection, which is highly susceptible to packet loss and service degradation due to the inherent security overheads of VPN services, including the AWS offerings. By mitigating these common connectivity issues, Cloudbrink significantly enhances the remote access experience and delivers consistent network speed improvements of 30x over VPN solutions.
HAaaS delivers this networking boost without compromising security, an essential consideration in the current threat landscape. Security is often a driver for adopting VPN services, even if the user experience is worse and the setup and management are more difficult for system admins. With HAaaS, organizations don't have to trade ease of use and performance against security.
Using optimized implementations of high-performance Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Automated Moving Target Defense (AMTD), and Personal SD-WAN, Cloudbrink HAaaS ensures that security and performance are delivered to the highest standards. These technologies collectively enable the 30x better performance measured and validated by third-party testing.
Final Thoughts
The benefits of adopting Cloudbrink HAaaS are significant. It provides the security organizations need plus industry-leading network performance, all in an easy-to-use solution. It also reduces the load on IT support teams, who often struggle to manage VPN-based remote access as the number of users increases.
Businesses looking to provide their employees a better remote access experience and an easy-to-manage solution for their IT teams will benefit from deploying Cloudbrink's HAaaS. It is an excellent choice for companies that want to deploy a better solution than the AWS VPN service. By implementing Cloudbrink's solution, businesses can ensure that their remote workforce stays productive, secure, and happy by fostering an efficient and collaborative environment, especially in today's increasingly remote and hybrid work landscape.
