COVID changed the way the world works. Practically overnight, businesses that had never allowed remote access suddenly had their entire teams working from home. What started as an emergency response has now become permanent: hybrid work, contractors, and distributed teams are here to stay.
For many SMBs, that shift was chaotic. Companies scrambled to set up VPNs, often cobbling together remote access in ways that hurt performance or compromised security. At Xvand, our clients had a very different experience. Because our private cloud environment was already built for secure remote access, nothing special had to be done when COVID hit. While others were panicking, our clients kept working securely and seamlessly — business as usual.
That contrast underscores an important truth: remote access is now business-critical. And securing it requires more than tossing everyone onto a VPN.
Today, a secure remote access strategy must cover multiple layers: Remote Desktop Services (RDS), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Zero Trust, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), cloud security controls, device protections, Single Sign-On (SSO), and continuous monitoring. VPNs still have their place in some environments, but for many SMBs, SASE is the modern replacement.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) has been the go-to remote access solution for decades. It encrypts traffic between a user’s device and the company network, preventing outsiders from snooping.
Benefits:
Remote Desktop Services (RDS) let users connect to a central desktop or server environment instead of accessing everything directly.
We still see this a lot in Houston’s manufacturing and distribution companies, where Windows-based ERP and accounting systems run the business.
Benefits:
No matter how employees connect — VPN, RDS, or cloud apps — MFA must be enforced.
Passwords alone? Not enough.
Why it matters:
Zero Trust means never trust, always verify. Instead of assuming access is safe because it comes through VPN or RDS, every request is checked against policies.
Key practices:
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is quickly becoming the gold standard for SMBs. It combines networking and security functions into a cloud-delivered service.
We rolled this out for a Houston client whose sales reps were constantly on the road — working from airports, hotels, even coffee shops. With SASE in place, their data is encrypted and inspected no matter where they connect, even on sketchy free Wi-Fi.
Benefits for SMBs:
Cloud apps like Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Teams, and Salesforce are inherently remote. But without controls, they’re a security minefield.
We’ve seen this too often: a file meant for one vendor ends up shared with the whole internet. Nobody notices until it’s too late.
Risks:
Remote access is only as strong as the device being used. If employees connect from insecure laptops or personal devices, they can bring malware straight into your environment.
We once onboarded a client where employees were using personal laptops with no patching. We found dozens of missing Windows updates. Once those machines were enrolled in our managed stack — with EDR and vulnerability scanning — the risk was gone.
Every remote device should have:
Managing dozens of usernames and passwords is a nightmare — for both employees and IT. That’s where Single Sign-On (SSO) comes in.
With SSO, employees log in once to a trusted identity provider (like Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure AD) and then gain access to all approved business apps — Microsoft 365, ERP systems, cloud services, and more.
Benefits:
Technology alone doesn’t secure remote access — policies and processes matter too.
Best practices:
We’ve seen both sides.
One SMB invested about $150 per user monthly for a full-stack remote access security package. They kept running smoothly during COVID — no disruptions, no ransomware scares, no scrambling to “make things work.”
Another local business (not a client) was hit with ransomware that cost them over $200,000. They never fully recovered. According to the U.S. National Cyber Security Alliance (https://staysafeonline.org), 60% of SMBs go out of business within six months of a ransomware attack.
The difference? Planning versus patchwork.
Secure remote access isn’t an expense. It’s survival.
Remote access is now permanent infrastructure, not a temporary COVID-era fix. For SMBs, the challenge is to make it secure without making it painful for users.
That requires a layered approach: