Is A Leased Line Or A VPN Best For Your Business?
Understanding the differences, advantages and disadvantages of both a leased line or a VPN can help you to make a more informed decision that will be a better suit for your business’ connectivity. In some cases, business may even opt for both a leased line AND a VPN, but there are three important factors that will determine whether this is a necessity or not. Firstly, you will need to consider your bandwidth requirements, so you know how often you’re going to use the internet connection, how many people will be accessing at the same time, and how you’re going to use it i.e. whether it’s for video calls, telephone calls, large uploads and downloads, or the occasional internet browse. In addition to this, you’re going to want to take into consideration your security requirements and also your budget.
Security
Quite simply, VPN exists to provide a secure connection for your business. A leased line and a VPN provide solutions to two very different problems, and a VPN’s aim is to encrypt all of your data transmissions in order to keep it as confidential as possible. Not only do they provide security and encryption for your data that is in transit, it also provides an additional security measure in that the data needs to be sent to or accessed by an authorised person. This means that while leased lines are somewhat secure in their own way, VPNs are the most secure for your business. This is why some businesses benefit from both a leased line and a VPN.
Cost
While a VPN is cheaper than a leased line, quite simply they are two incomparable connections – as they both do different things. The idea of a VPN is to provide exceptional security, encryption and authorisation options for those who are in need of securing their data – whether that’s when transferring data between offices, having a totally secure connection or encrypting the data between offices and homeworkers. A leased line on the other hand provides a dedicated connection offering exceptional bandwidth for those who can benefit from it.
On the other hand, a VPN offers protection and encryption over an existing connection that you already have – whether that’s a leased line, an ADSL connection, a mobile network connection or any other type of connection that you may have. However, the cost of a leased line is something that people may find a bit of a put off, particularly smaller businesses, so it is important to take into account the requirements of your business in order to better determine which the best option is for you.
Leased Line
Provides: Connectivity
Example Of Uses: Link an office to the internet. Link an office to its secondary location. Link a data centre to its secondary location
Benefits: Fast upstream and downstream, Consistent speeds, Unlimited usage
Right for a head office? Probably, depending on staff and bandwidth
Right for a main office? Probably
Main Options: 2Mb, 10Mb, 20Mb, 100Mb and more. Internet access & fibre optic or copper circuits
VPN
Provides: Security – encryption
Example Of Uses: Encrypt data between offices, data between offices and home workers and stop unauthorised remote users from accessing.
Benefits: Confidentiality of all data
Right for a head office? Single sites
Right for a main office? Probably
Main Options: SSL VPN & standard VPN
How To Know Which Is Right For Your Business?
If you’ve weighed up the benefits and the disadvantages of both the VPN and the leased line connection for your business, and you need some expert advice in order to help you make your decision, get in touch with 2Connect today. We can provide you with all of the information that you need in order to find a cost-effective, reliable connection for your business requirements.
