The Cultural Shift from DVDs to Streaming—and What It Teaches Us About Infrastructure
Once upon a time, Friday night meant a trip to Blockbuster. You’d wander the aisles, grab snacks, maybe argue over which movie to rent. It was a ritual. Then came streaming—and just like that, DVDs became relics. Not because they stopped working, but because the way people wanted to consume content changed. Convenience beat nostalgia. Streaming didn’t just kill off DVDs—it redefined an entire industry.
The same shift is now underway in enterprise infrastructure. VPN appliances—once the backbone of secure remote access—are the DVDs of today’s security strategy. They were the standard for years. But the way we work, where we work, and what we need to secure has changed dramatically. Just like DVDs, VPN appliances didn’t become bad. They just stopped making sense. In an always-connected, cloud-first world, businesses aren’t looking for what worked ten years ago—they’re chasing what works right now. And increasingly, that’s Secure Service Edge (SSE) and cloud-delivered SASE.
The Golden Era of VPN Appliances Is Ending
There was a time when VPN appliances were mission-critical. They gave employees secure, encrypted access to the corporate network, no matter where they were. Back then, “remote access” meant a handful of traveling employees or third-party vendors, and centralized data centers were still the norm. Deploying VPN hardware in your headquarters and maybe a few branch offices made sense. It was predictable. Contained. Controllable.
But here’s the catch: VPN appliances were architected for a world that no longer exists.
Today, users are everywhere. Apps live in multiple clouds. Devices are unmanaged. And the enterprise perimeter? It’s gone. In this new reality, the old model of “tunneling traffic back to the data center” isn’t just inefficient—it’s dangerous. It creates performance bottlenecks, introduces latency, and expands the attack surface.
Yet many organizations are still clinging to VPN appliances, convinced they’re a security necessity when they’ve actually become a liability. Like DVD players collecting dust in storage closets, these legacy boxes are increasingly unused—and in many cases, unpatched. That’s not just a bad operational model. It’s a wide-open door for attackers.
The golden era of VPNs is over. And the sooner security leaders accept that, the sooner they can move toward something better.
What’s Replacing VPNs—and Why It’s Already Too Late for Some
The replacement for VPN appliances isn’t coming. It’s already here—and it’s growing fast.
Secure Service Edge (SSE) is the cloud-native evolution of secure access. Instead of relying on physical hardware in the office or data center, SSE delivers Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), cloud firewall, CASB, and secure web gateway capabilities as a unified service. It’s built to connect users to applications, not networks. That’s a fundamental shift.
The result? Users get faster, safer access—no matter where they are. IT teams gain visibility and control. And businesses can scale security without scaling infrastructure. The VPN appliance model simply can’t compete with that.
Many organizations are already well into this transition, often without fully realizing it. If you’ve rolled out ZTNA to replace traditional remote access, you’ve already taken the first step. If you’ve adopted cloud-based secure web gateways, you’re halfway there.
But for vendors and service providers who built their business around VPNs, the clock is ticking. Some have responded by rolling out cloud add-ons. Others are trying to rebrand old tech. But none of that changes the reality: the market has moved.
Those who adapt quickly will survive. Those who don’t will face the same fate as DVD manufacturers when Netflix went all-in on streaming.
Why VPNs Were Never Built for a Cloud-First World
On paper, VPNs still “work.” They encrypt traffic, authenticate users, and establish a tunnel to the corporate network. But here’s the problem: none of that fits how business is done today.
VPNs assume a static perimeter—a trusted inside and an untrusted outside. They punch holes through firewalls to bring external users inside the network, giving them implicit trust once authenticated. That alone is a nightmare in a Zero Trust world. But it gets worse.
Modern enterprises run workloads in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and across SaaS. Employees access apps like Salesforce, GitHub, or Microsoft 365 directly from their devices—often without touching the corporate network at all. VPNs can’t enforce granular, app-level policies in this environment. They backhaul traffic, add latency, and often require users to connect to resources they weren’t meant to reach in the first place.
It’s not just that VPNs are outdated. It’s that they were never designed for a perimeter-less architecture. They’re the wrong tool for the job—like trying to stream Netflix through a DVD menu. And when attackers compromise VPN credentials, they’re rewarded with broad lateral movement inside the network. That’s how major breaches happen.
Cloud-first businesses need cloud-native security. Anything else is risk disguised as tradition.
The New Economics of Secure Access
Moving to a cloud-delivered solution like SSE doesn’t just solve performance and security issues—it also makes financial sense.
With traditional VPN appliances, businesses have to invest in physical hardware, manage expensive licensing, and keep up with regular upgrades and maintenance. This results in a heavy CapEx model, where security infrastructure becomes a long-term financial burden.
In contrast, SSE is typically a subscription-based service, allowing businesses to pay for only what they need. This means lower upfront costs, predictable recurring expenses, and the ability to scale security in line with business growth. You won’t need to worry about hardware refresh cycles, and the cost of managing infrastructure is significantly reduced.
For businesses embracing the cloud-first model, SSE offers a more cost-effective, flexible, and efficient way to secure access to applications and data—making it an investment that pays off in the long run.
Winners, Losers, and the Land Grab to Own the Access Layer
For cybersecurity leaders, the shift from VPN appliances to cloud-delivered SSE isn’t just a technological change—it’s a strategic opportunity.
The winners in this shift are organizations that move early to embrace cloud-native security solutions. By adopting SSE, they not only streamline their security infrastructure but also gain an edge in terms of flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. With SSE, businesses can secure access to their apps and data without the complexity of managing legacy hardware. The cloud-native nature of SSE also allows organizations to scale quickly, add new locations or users effortlessly, and stay ahead of security threats—all while maintaining a strong security posture.
On the other hand, organizations that continue to rely on VPN appliances risk being left behind. VPNs were built for a world of centralized, on-premise resources. In today’s distributed, cloud-first environment, sticking to legacy tools means dealing with inefficiencies—like performance issues, security gaps, and complexity. Maintaining VPNs ties up resources and locks you into an outdated model of security that’s increasingly difficult to manage.
The battle for the access layer is underway. The new winners will be those who understand that security isn’t about building barriers, but enabling secure, seamless access for users no matter where they are. As more businesses embrace SSE, the companies that fail to adapt will find themselves burdened with high operational costs and increased risk. The transformation is happening fast—if you haven’t already started shifting, now is the time to make the move.
DVDs, VPN Appliances, and the Cost of Holding On Too Long
Just like the movie rental industry faced its inevitable decline as streaming services took over, businesses that hold onto outdated VPN appliances risk facing a similar fate. The truth is, when better, faster, and more efficient solutions arrive, the older models simply can’t keep up.
While it’s tempting to stick with what’s familiar—VPN appliances, in this case—the reality is that sticking to legacy tools puts your business at a significant disadvantage. The longer you wait to adopt SSE, the more risk and inefficiency you invite into your organization.
For businesses still holding onto VPNs, it’s time to reconsider. Cloud-native security isn’t just the future—it’s the now. The sooner you embrace SSE, the sooner you can stop worrying about the outdated constraints of VPN appliances and start focusing on a more secure, efficient, and scalable way to enable remote access.