Around 44% of global companies now support remote work, and businesses are having to reshape how they structure and secure their networks. Traditional reliance on MPLS for consistent, high-performance connectivity has become increasingly unsustainable, with many companies spending upwards of $10,000 per month to maintain reliable bandwidth across multiple locations?. Additionally, traditional VPNs are struggling to perform under the weight of increasing demand.
This article underscores the critical need for cloud security and optimisation in today’s digital landscape, where distributed teams rely heavily on cloud-based applications. With hybrid and remote work models becoming the norm, organisations encounter increasing challenges in securing and optimising their cloud environments for uninterrupted access across multiple locations.
By leveraging Cythera’s managed services alongside Cato Networks’ cloud-native platform, organisations can achieve a unified approach to cloud security and performance.
Network Challenges in a Remote-First World
The shift to a remote-first model has intensified demands on network security, scalability, and performance. Traditional solutions like VPNs and MPLS struggle to keep pace with the new reality of dispersed teams and cloud-based applications, creating limitations in key areas.
Scalability and Availability Issues
As businesses attempt to support expanding remote workforces, first-generation VPNs reveal their limitations. These setups lack inherent scalability, requiring each component to be configured individually for higher availability: a process that’s both complex and costly. Adding more VPN concentrators to meet increased demand often results in network bottlenecks, hindering productivity and availability. Likewise, MPLS, dependent on fixed circuits and long-term contracts, restricts dynamic scalability, limiting flexibility and growth potential in global operations.
Performance Trade-Offs with Legacy Systems
Reliance on public internet-based VPNs to route traffic to centralised locations for security often results in latency and degraded performance. Remote workers experience lagging connectivity and reduced application speeds, diminishing productivity. While MPLS offers stable connectivity, its centralised routing and limited bandwidth can also lead to performance bottlenecks, which are costly to scale and manage.
Security Gaps in Fragmented Setups
Legacy VPNs generally lack advanced security features, requiring multiple dispersed security appliances to compensate. This ‘appliance sprawl’ introduces unnecessary vulnerabilities and increases complexity, as each system must be managed across distributed environments. MPLS, too, falls short in security integration, needing separate firewalls and intrusion prevention systems, which add to operational overhead and leave gaps that can be exploited.
Why Cato Networks and Cythera Are Built for Today’s Remote-First World
As businesses adapt to remote work and cloud reliance, traditional network setups like MPLS and VPN fall short. Cythera, in partnership with Cato Networks, delivers a modern, unified solution that enhances connectivity, security, and cost-effectiveness for the distributed workforce.
- Scalable, Reliable Connectivity: Cato’s global private backbone dynamically routes traffic over optimised paths, reducing latency and congestion to provide fast, stable connections for teams across all locations.
- Integrated Security at Every Location: Security is seamlessly built into each Point of Presence (PoP) with zero-trust access, advanced firewalls, and real-time threat prevention. This embedded approach removes the need for fragmented security appliances, closing vulnerabilities and simplifying protection.
- Enhanced Cloud Access: For cloud-based applications, Cato’s infrastructure eliminates traditional data backhauling, offering direct, secure connections to AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and others. This reduces delays and improves user experience, especially for remote employees relying on cloud services.
- Cost Savings and Operational Efficiency: By consolidating networking and security into a single, cloud-native platform, Cato and Cythera reduce reliance on hardware, cut service costs, and simplify contracts—which is especially beneficial for international operations.
- Streamlined, Centralised Management: The platform offers centralised visibility and control, allowing for real-time monitoring, policy enforcement, and security updates across all locations, making network management easier and more consistent.
- Future-Ready for ‘Productivity Anywhere’: Designed to support continuous connectivity and security as hybrid and remote work models become the norm, Cato and Cythera offer an agile, resilient solution with proactive support from Cythera’s managed services, ensuring your network is ready for today’s and tomorrow’s demands.
Unified Security Across Global Sites with Cythera's Managed Services
Cato integrates SD-WAN with next-gen security features into its SASE platform, removing the need for complex site-specific hardware. Cythera's managed services strengthen this framework through proactive monitoring, customised configurations, and dedicated support, ensuring data protection across all environments. Together, Cythera and Cato Networks provide a robust security solution, ensuring seamless protection across all sites and users. Key features include:
- Firewall-as-a-Service provides built-in, real-time traffic inspection to prevent threats without additional hardware.
- Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) monitors and neutralises suspicious activity, adding a layer of protection against advanced threats.
- Zero Trust Network Access enforces user authentication policies, ensuring that only authorised individuals can access sensitive resources.
- Comprehensive Cloud Security secures applications and data, regardless of user location or access method, providing robust protection across on-premise, remote, and public networks.
Ready to Make the Switch? Meet with Cythera to Optimise your Operations
Cythera and Cato Networks’ unified SASE solution is designed to meet the demands of the modern distributed workforce, combining network optimisation with advanced, integrated security features to create a resilient, scalable infrastructure that supports your workforce seamlessly.
If you’re considering making the switch to a more agile network solution, Cythera is currently offering a complimentary assessment of your current network and spending, helping you pinpoint potential cost savings and performance improvements. Book a meeting today and gain access to our Checklist for a Smooth MPLS Transition that will guide you through each step toward a more flexible, secure network model.
