Delinea Explained: VPN vs VPN-less Technologies

In today's hybrid and cloud-centric world, organisations must provide secure, scalable and efficient access to internal systems - particularly for privileged users. Traditionally, this has been achieved using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which establish encrypted connections between devices over less secure networks like the internet. However, VPNless technologies - such as Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), and identity-aware proxies - are rapidly gaining traction. These modern solutions differ fundamentally in approach: VPNs provide broad network-level access, while VPNless options offer application-specific access based on identity and context, aligning with Zero Trust priniciples and enforcing least privilege. VPNless is typically cloud-native, highly scalable, and integrates more seamlessly with Single Sign-On (SSO) and identity federation tools, providing both better user experience and tighter security by minimising the risk of lateral movement.

While VPNs remain useful - particularly for legacy systems or smaller environments - their downsides include excessive access, performance bottlenecks, and hardware costs. In contrast, VPNless technologies offer finer-grained access control, better visibility for audits, and enhanced scalability, making them ideal for modern, security-first environments. Demonstrations of VPNless solutions, such as Delinea's Privileged Remote Access, show how administrators can securely access Windows and Unix systems without ever seeing passwords, all through a standard browser interface. Ultimately, the right choice depends on your specific business needs, a technical landscape and compliance obligations. Many organisations opt for a hybrid appraoch, retaining VPNs for certain legacy use cases while embracing VPNless for cloud and DevOps environments. The shift may require new thinking - but the security and operation benefits are clear.