For a long time, VPNs did their job. They gave people a way in and kept the perimeter intact. For what work looked like then, they were good enough.
But work has changed, and access hasn’t kept pace.
When applications feel slow for remote users, security teams start to worry about visibility and IT teams spend too much time stitching access together.
At that point, the issue is no longer effort or execution. It’s architecture.
More specifically, it’s a VPN model that no longer aligns with how work happens.
Today, most applications live in the cloud, but VPNs still force users to take a detour through the corporate network first. In a traditional VPN model, cloud-bound traffic is hairpinned through the network before reaching an internet-facing application. Instead of a direct path to the app, traffic is sent down an alternate route, creating a fork in the road that adds delay, exposure, and complexity.
A forked VPN sends cloud traffic the long way around – adding latency for users, expanding exposure for security teams, and increasing cost for the business.
The Problem IT Leaders Feel but Rarely Name
Most IT professionals know that traditional VPNs are reaching their limits. The challenge isn’t awareness. It’s the risk that comes with changing something so foundational.
What breaks if we touch this?
What happens to users on day one?
Does this turn into a months-long project no one planned for?
That hesitation makes sense. VPNs sit at the intersection of user experience, security, and uptime. When access underpins so much of the business, even necessary changes can feel like open-heart surgery – where the smallest missteps can have outsized consequences.
So it’s understandable that teams learn to live with the day-to-day strain instead:
- Cloud applications feel slower than they should, especially for remote users
- Users get far more access than their job requires
- Tools are added to compensate for gaps, increasing complexity over time
- IT teams spend more time maintaining access than moving the business forward
When access paths start to look like spaghetti, that’s the tell that your network is forked.
“Unforking” is the work of simplifying that access path again. It means getting users to the application they need, without sending them somewhere else first.
Why VPNs No Longer Hold Up
VPNs worked well when applications lived in the data center and users connected from a handful of known locations. As cloud and SaaS adoption grew, that model quietly started to work against itself.
In practice, VPN access expands the attack surface and increases blast radius, because users land on the network first instead of going straight to the application. The result is an access model that becomes harder to manage the more your environment evolves.
This isn’t a failure of teams. It’s a mismatch between how access was designed and how work gets done. A forked access path is the byproduct of applying perimeter-based trust to a cloud-first world.
What “Unforked” Access Looks Like
Unforking your VPN means shifting from network-based trust to identity-based access. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) enables this shift by connecting users directly to the applications they’re authorized to use, rather than the network itself. The result is a model that fits how people access cloud applications today.
Access is granted by policy and context rather than network location, which keeps the internal network dark and protected while improving performance at the same time.
Traffic takes the shortest path to the application, so users get faster, more reliable access. No tunnels. No detours. No unnecessary exposure.
The Part Most Vendors Skip: The Transition
The technology behind secure access is only part of the equation. What determines success is how teams move from one model to the next.
Unforking works best when it’s done incrementally and is mapped to existing identities and applications. That approach reduces risk, avoids disruption, and gives teams space to validate what’s working as they move forward.
A fully managed transition creates a predictable path off VPNs, without breaking workflows or forcing internal teams to figure it out as they go.
Why This Matters
Unforked access changes the day-to-day operational load of access, not just the security posture. It reshapes how access behaves and how much attention it demands from IT.
When access is simpler and more intentional, teams spend less time maintaining it and more time supporting the business. Policies are easier to apply and easier to trust. And troubleshooting becomes the exception, not the norm.
For leadership, the impact is just as tangible. Risk is more contained. User experience improves without tradeoffs. Costs are easier to predict. And access stops being the quiet constraint no one wants to touch.
An unforked VPN sets a different expectation for how access should feel.
A Cleaner Way Forward
If your VPN feels harder to manage every quarter, or if it has quietly become a source of risk and frustration, it’s worth stepping back and reassessing the model itself.
Not everything needs to be rebuilt. But some things need to be unforked.
Download the Unfork Your VPN executive brochure to see how identity-first access reduces risk and complexity without disrupting what already works.
