NordVPN Teams rebrands as NordLayer, moves towards SASE business solutions
- The product expands its reach, offering more than just VPN services
- NordLayer moves towards custom solutions for growing businesses
- It aims to capitalize on the quickly growing SASE market
NordVPN Teams, NordVPN’s business security solution, is rebranding as NordLayer. The new name represents an adapting security layer, helping businesses keep safe against the ever-evolving security threats – and also gives hints about the future of the company itself.
In a press release, the company claims it’s “outgrown the name”. It’s now moving beyond the VPNs, and towards the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) framework, offering data security and advanced remote work solutions for organizations.
The new rebrand comes with an updated logo, as well as brand new designs for web and applications. It should be fully completed by the end of 2021.
Adapting for the future
A recent surge of remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic has showcased shortcomings in how businesses deal with their data security.
Ransomware has been on a rise, with attacks against businesses being more and more commonplace. VPNs, masking IP addresses, and allowing remote access, are useful as a whole. But they are still only temporary solutions when it comes to business needs concerning remote work.
With the new direction, NordLayer aims to offer a more complete and customizable solution for clients who have specific security needs and are looking for tools that will let them work and grow faster.
“The name change is aligned with our long-term development strategy in building a product that follows the SASE framework, is secure, simple to get started with, and effortlessly scalable.”Donatas Tamelis, Managing Director at NordLayer
Right now, NordLayer offers features such as AES 256-bit traffic encryption, site-to-site tunneling, network access control aligned with Zero Trust principles, two-factor (2FA) and biometric authentication, virtual LAN between company devices and servers, dedicated servers functionality, custom private gateway creation, Single Sign-On (SSO) with Azure AD, Okta, and G Suite, rooted device detection, and threat-block malware protection, including DNS filtering.
SASE business outlook
One of the factors main factors influencing the change has certainly been the changing industry landscape. Gartner, one of the world’s leading advisory companies, estimates that by 2025, the entire SASE industry will grow by over 3 times, with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 36%.
By then, companies offering business solutions but unable to offer SASE, should be forced to settle for niche opportunities. With the new direction, that's something NordLayer certainly tries to avoid.
With this decision, NordLayer joins a new market. It puts itself directly in competition with dedicated SASE companies such as Perimeter81, Cato Networks, and Forcepoint.