Editor’s Note: The article discusses VPN services as essential tools for ensuring secure remote connectivity over public networks by encrypting traffic and authenticating users. It explains how VPNs protect sensitiv... Read More
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Get 24/7 IT Support NowWith the growth in mobile devices and cloud computing, businesses need more secure ways to connect their employees to their corporate network. A managed virtual private network (VPN) service provides this security by creating an encrypted tunnel between your company’s network and remote use. A managed VPN services is an excellent way to protect your data while on public Wi-Fi networks. Find out more about it here!
A managed VPN service is a subscription-based virtual private network (VPN) service that provides secure connections between remote offices or employees and their corporate headquarters. The service offers a range of features, such as network security, data encryption, firewall protection, and access control.
There are several benefits to using a managed VPN service. For example, they provide a secure connection between remote offices or employees, allowing them to securely connect to the company’s intranet or extranet. They also offer additional services such as email filtering, web filtering, and anti-malware protection.
“Managed VPN Services” are becoming increasingly popular because they allow companies to save time and money. In addition, they can reduce IT costs and improve productivity.
There are several reasons you should choose a managed VPN service provider instead of setting up and maintaining it yourself.
No Installation Fees – Unlike purchasing a standalone VPN device, you don’t need to purchase anything else when signing up for a managed VPN service.
No Technical Expertise Required – Sign up with your service provider and start accessing your corporate network.
24/7 Support – Your service provider offers round-the-clock support. You can contact them via phone, live chat, or e-mail.
Security Guaranteed – A managed VPN service provides a secure tunnel between your computer and the Internet. You won’t be vulnerable to hackers if you use the correct password.
Reliability – Since the service provider takes care of everything, you shouldn’t encounter any downtime issues.
Scalability – You get unlimited bandwidth when subscribing to a managed VPN service. This means that you can connect with as many clients as you like.
Cost Savings – Using a managed VPN service, your company saves money because it doesn’t need to spend time and resources installing and configuring the necessary hardware.
A managed virtual private network (VPN) creates an encrypted connection between authorized users, remote offices, or business networks and the resources they need to access. A managed VPN provider configures, operates, monitors, and maintains the VPN infrastructure according to the agreed service scope.
The exact setup depends on whether employees connect individually from remote locations or entire office networks need to communicate securely.
Remote Access VPN :A remote access VPN allows an authorized employee to connect to company resources from home, a hotel, or another remote location. The user typically authenticates through a VPN client or an approved access mechanism before establishing the connection.
For example, a finance employee working remotely may need to access an internal accounting application that is not exposed directly to the public internet. A remote access VPN can provide a controlled connection to that resource.
Site-to-Site VPN :A site-to-site VPN connects two or more networks, such as a corporate headquarters and a branch office. VPN gateways at each location establish encrypted tunnels so that authorized traffic can travel between the networks.
For example, a company with offices in New York, Chicago, and Dallas may use site-to-site VPN connections to support access to shared business applications and internal systems.
Depending on the service agreement, a managed VPN provider may be responsible for:
Before selecting a provider, clarify which responsibilities are included and which remain with your internal IT team.
The appropriate VPN design depends on who needs access, which resources must be protected, how many locations are involved, and what performance and availability requirements apply.
Remote access VPNs suit organizations whose employees need secure access to internal applications while working outside the corporate office.
Businesses should assess supported devices, authentication requirements, endpoint compliance, concurrent connections, and the applications employees need.
Site-to-site VPNs are useful when branch offices, warehouses, or other business locations need secure communication with headquarters or shared infrastructure.
Key considerations include tunnel capacity, routing, redundancy, internet connectivity at each location, and the impact of a connection loss.
Organizations using public cloud infrastructure may need VPN connectivity between their on-premises networks and cloud environments. This can support access to private cloud resources and communication between environments.
The design should account for routing, throughput, encryption, access policies, cloud network architecture, and the availability requirements of connected applications.
Some businesses need a combination of remote access, site-to-site, and cloud VPN connectivity. A managed provider can help coordinate these connections, document dependencies, and establish consistent operational procedures.
The best option is not necessarily the most complex design. It is the configuration that meets business requirements while remaining supportable, secure, and appropriately sized.
These technologies serve related but different purposes. Choosing between them requires understanding whether the primary need is secure access, network connectivity between locations, or broader traffic management across multiple network links.
| Technology | Primary purpose | When businesses use it |
|---|---|---|
| Managed VPN | A provider operates or supports VPN connectivity under an agreed service scope. | Organizations that need VPN configuration, monitoring, maintenance, or troubleshooting support |
| Business VPN | A general term for VPN connectivity used by an organization; it may be self-managed or provider-managed | Businesses that need secure remote access or encrypted network connections |
| SD-WAN | Centralized management and intelligent routing of traffic across multiple WAN connections | Organizations with multiple sites, cloud applications, diverse connectivity links, or more complex traffic policies |
A managed VPN describes a service and its operational responsibility. A business VPN describes the organizational use case. SD-WAN focuses on managing and optimizing traffic across a wide-area network.
These options are not mutually exclusive. An SD-WAN deployment can use IPsec VPN tunnels to protect traffic, and a managed service provider may manage both the VPN infrastructure and the wider WAN environment.
Businesses with a small number of sites and straightforward connectivity requirements may find a managed VPN sufficient. Organizations with many locations, multiple WAN links, application-aware routing requirements, or centralized traffic policies may benefit from evaluating SD-WAN.
A VPN encrypts traffic across the connection, but it does not automatically protect every device, application, or account that uses it. Businesses should assess the full security design rather than treating a VPN tunnel as proof that a network is secure.
Choosing a managed VPN provider involves more than comparing advertised speeds or monthly prices. The provider must support the organization’s network design, security requirements, and operational needs.
Document existing routers, firewalls, VPN gateways, cloud environments, authentication systems, and network addressing requirements. Ask the provider how it will integrate with the current environment and handle configuration changes.
Determine whether monitoring and support are available around the clock or only during specified business hours.
Ask how incidents are detected, acknowledged, escalated, and resolved. Clarify whether the provider monitors the VPN service alone or also the underlying internet connections and network equipment.
Review the availability commitment, measurement method, exclusions, maintenance windows, response targets, escalation procedures, and service credits, if applicable.
Distinguish between a response-time commitment and a resolution-time commitment. A provider may acknowledge an incident within a defined period without guaranteeing that the underlying issue will be resolved in that same period.
Clarify responsibility for VPN configuration, authentication, access reviews, patching, log collection, vulnerability remediation, and incident coordination.
Ask for relevant documentation of security practices and confirm that contractual requirements match the organization’s needs.
Estimate the number of users, locations, concurrent connections, and applications the service must support. Discuss expected traffic growth, bandwidth requirements, peak usage, and capacity upgrades.
Do not assume that a managed VPN includes unlimited bandwidth or unlimited connections. Verify the actual service limits and pricing terms.
Confirm who owns the VPN configuration, network diagrams, credentials, documentation, and change records. Ask what reports are available and how the customer can access them.
The agreement should also address service termination, configuration handover, credential revocation, and transition assistance if the organization changes providers.
Managed VPN pricing varies based on network design, the number of users and locations, required capacity, and the provider’s operational responsibilities.
Businesses should compare the complete cost of delivering and maintaining the service rather than relying on a single advertised monthly price.
A remote access service for a limited number of employees has different capacity and support requirements from a site-to-site deployment connecting numerous branch offices.
Ask whether pricing is based on users, gateways, locations, devices, or another billing model.
Higher throughput requirements may call for additional gateway capacity, upgraded equipment, or more expensive service tiers. Applications such as voice, video, and large file transfers may also require careful performance planning.
Some deployments require dedicated VPN gateways, firewall appliances, software licenses, or subscriptions. Confirm whether these are included in the managed service or billed separately.
Around-the-clock monitoring, expedited escalation, redundant gateways, and more demanding availability commitments may affect the overall cost.
Clarify exactly which support activities are included in the base service.
Initial configuration, migration from an existing VPN, integration with identity systems, documentation, and testing may involve one-time professional service charges.
A structured deployment helps businesses reduce disruption and confirm that the VPN meets security and operational requirements before it becomes a critical dependency.
Identify who needs access, which applications and network segments must be reachable, the locations involved, and the expected traffic volume.
Record availability, security, and performance requirements before choosing the architecture.
Review current firewalls, gateways, internet connections, IP addressing, routing, identity systems, and security policies.
Identify overlapping IP ranges, incompatible configurations, and dependencies that could affect connectivity.
Determine whether remote access, site-to-site, cloud connectivity, or a combination is appropriate.
Choose the VPN technology, gateway capacity, authentication method, and redundancy design according to the documented requirements.
Establish encryption settings, authentication policies, least-privilege access rules, logging, and administrative controls.
Document which party is responsible for each configuration and ongoing security task.
Test user authentication, application access, throughput, failover, routing, and access restrictions.
Confirm that authorized users can reach required resources and that unauthorized access is blocked.
Roll out the service in manageable stages. Communicate connection instructions, support procedures, and any changes employees need to make.
Monitor performance and resolve issues before migrating the remaining users or locations.
Track availability, tunnel status, authentication failures, capacity, and recurring incidents.
Review access permissions and configurations regularly. Update documentation as the network changes.
A managed VPN can have connectivity and performance problems even when the tunnel appears established. Troubleshooting should identify whether the issue originates with the user’s device, the VPN gateway, the underlying internet connection, routing, authentication, or the destination application.
Check internet connectivity, authentication status, client configuration, device compliance, certificate validity, and any relevant gateway or identity-provider logs.
If multiple users are affected simultaneously, investigate shared infrastructure and recent configuration changes rather than troubleshooting every endpoint independently.
Check available bandwidth, latency, packet loss, gateway utilization, routing paths, encryption overhead, and destination application performance.
Compare performance with and without the VPN where policy permits, and determine whether the bottleneck is local connectivity, the VPN service, or the application itself.
Review routing, DNS resolution, firewall rules, access policies, overlapping network ranges, and application dependencies.
A connected VPN does not guarantee that every internal application is reachable.
Review gateway logs, internet connection stability, tunnel negotiation, device resource utilization, and relevant timeout settings.
For site-to-site deployments, check both network endpoints and the underlying connectivity at each location.
Test the actual failure scenario and verify gateway redundancy, route convergence, monitoring triggers, and recovery behavior.
Document the expected failover behavior and confirm it through controlled testing rather than relying solely on configuration settings.
If an external provider manages the VPN, define which diagnostics the provider performs, what evidence the customer must supply, and how unresolved incidents are escalated.
There are two main types of managed VPN services: Software-based and Hardware-based. Both types offer similar features but differ in terms of how they operate.
Software-Based Managed VPN Services
Most managed VPN services are software-based, and these services run on top of your existing operating system and provide all the functionality required to create a VPN connection.
The advantage of this type of VPN is that it works seamlessly with your current operating system and does not require additional hardware or software installations.
However, one major drawback is that the performance of the VPN drops significantly once you exceed the allotted amount of bandwidth.
Hardware-Based Managed VPN Services
Hardware-based VPNs are explicitly designed for high-speed connections. They usually come equipped with hardware components such as routers and firewalls.
These devices allow you to set up multiple tunnels simultaneously, giving you more control over your network traffic. Hardware-based VPNs also tend to be more reliable than software-based VPNs, but they cost more.
In conclusion, choosing the right managed VPN service depends on what kind of connectivity you need. For example, a hardware-based solution would work best if you want speed and access your office from home. On the other hand, if you want to protect your sensitive files while browsing the web, then a software-based solution will suffice.
Businesses that rely on remote employees, branch offices, and cloud applications need VPN connectivity that is appropriately configured, monitored, and maintained.
ExterNetworks provides managed technology services that help businesses address network operations and infrastructure support requirements. Organizations evaluating managed VPN support should clarify their connectivity needs, security responsibilities, monitoring coverage, and availability requirements before selecting a service.
Explore ExterNetworks’ Managed VPN Services to learn more about the available service offerings and discuss your organization’s requirements.
Contact ExterNetworks to evaluate the VPN support and network management approach that fits your business.
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