Why IT Pros Are Fed Up with Traditional Secure Networking (And What’s Actually Working Today)

IT teams today are pulled in a thousand directions. They’re expected to support hybrid and remote workforces, lock down mission-critical data, and stitch together connectivity across SaaS, public cloud, private cloud, and on-prem systems—all without slowing users down or blowing up the budget.

Despite the evolved complexity and heterogeneity of modern database environments, many IT security teams are unable to break free from the use of traditional network security solutions to keep pace. They’re typically constrained by realities such as:

• Fear of disruption to mission-critical databases and latency-sensitive workloads
• Limited budgets and competing priorities (ransomware defense, identity, compliance tooling)
• Organizational silos between network, security, and database teams
• Compliance complacency, where legacy VPNs and firewalls still technically “check the box”
• Change fatigue after years of cloud migration, remote workforce shifts, and constant security initiatives

Ultimately, most organizations find themselves in a balancing act between modernization and operational risk, where “good enough for now” often wins in a head-to-head debate over architectural transformation.

Unfortunately, that means the IT professionals left managing legacy network security technologies are dealing with a slew of common pain points.

Pain Point #1: VPNs Break Down in Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Environments

Traditional VPNs were designed in a world where users and apps lived behind a network firewall. But in a hybrid and multi-cloud world, that assumption no longer holds. IT teams report persistent issues like:

• Remote users frequently dropping connections or failing to reach internal applications reliably, especially over inconsistent networks (coffee shops, poor VPN termination points, etc.).
• VPN gateways becoming chokepoints for traffic, forcing hairpin routing back through data centers instead of direct cloud access.
• Difficulty supporting a sprawling landscape of cloud resources, SaaS apps, and distributed services.

These challenges aren’t just “annoyances,” they’re operational blockers that drive helpdesk tickets, slow down deployments, and make scaling secure remote access much harder than it needs to be.

Pain Point #2: Security Risks – Overexposure and Control Gaps

VPNs create a network-wide trust boundary, meaning authentication often grants broad network visibility rather than precise access. IT pros commonly worry about:

• Credential compromise impact: If VPN credentials are stolen, attackers may gain immediate network-level access instead of being limited to a single application.
• Limited application-level visibility: Security teams can see who connected to the VPN, but not always what specific services or databases they accessed.
• Difficult enforcement of true least privilege: Granular, per-application access control is often layered on manually, or not at all; leading to broader trust zones than intended.

This shifts the issue from just “lateral movement” to a broader concern: VPNs operate at the network layer, while modern risk management increasingly requires identity and application-level precision.

Pain Point #3: Performance & User Experience Complaints

IT professionals also regularly flag performance as a dealbreaker:

• VPN tunnels introducing latency and bandwidth bottlenecks, especially for cloud-to-cloud traffic or remote users.
• Split-tunneling headaches and routing quirks that make policy management brittle and inconsistent.
• User frustration with clunky VPN clients that demand constant updates or break workflows.

In a fast-moving hybrid workplace, these performance issues directly impact productivity.

Pain Point #4: Operational Overhead and Complexity

Maintaining traditional secure networking stacks is time-intensive and requires:

• Constant patching of physical appliances and VPN endpoints.
• Complex configuration for site-to-site tunnels across cloud and on-prem environments.
• Manual troubleshooting for connectivity issues that span multiple infrastructures.

IT teams tell us that as infrastructure gets more distributed, the promise of “set-and-forget” networking evaporates. What used to be relatively static environments are now dynamic, elastic, and harder to secure.

A Better Way: Software-Defined Perimeter

Frustrated with the limitations of traditional security models? Here’s where modern Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) approaches that are designed from the ground up for distributed, cloud-centric environments can make a huge difference.

DxOdyssey Software‑Defined Perimeter from DH2i is one such solution. Rather than bolting VPNs onto a patchwork of firewalls or expecting users to tunnel into a flat network, it:

✔ Creates Direct, Identity-Verified Access

DxOdyssey builds zero trust network access (ZTNA) tunnels between users, applications, and resources — not “networks.” This means:

• Only authorized users and devices can see or talk to specified services
• There’s no broad network visibility for authenticated users, eliminating common lateral attack paths

✔ Designed for Hybrid & Multi-Cloud

Unlike perimeter tools that struggle in multi-cloud environments, DxOdyssey scales across:

• On-prem systems
• Hybrid cloud infrastructures
• Multi-cloud deployments
• IoT and Edge deployments

Because DxOdyssey is infrastructure-agnostic and lightweight, it doesn’t require redesigning your network just to secure modern configurations.

✔ Improves Performance and Reliability

Rather than forcing all traffic through a centralized VPN hop, SDP connects endpoints directly at the application level. What’s more impressive—DxOdyssey differentiates itself from other SDP solutions by facilitating these direct-connect ZTNA tunnels without touching your organization’s data path. Ultimately, organizations get:

• Faster, more efficient networks with measurable throughput gains
• Built-in tunnel HA and automatic failover to keep critical applications reachable
• Maximum data privacy

✔ Reduces Operational Load

Since DxOdyssey can overlay existing environments without extensive reconfiguration, it:

• Simplifies rollout and management versus traditional VPN appliances
• Reduces dependence on network engineering for basic connectivity and security
• Fits into Zero Trust transformation roadmaps without a forklift upgrade

How to Take Your First Steps Towards SDP Security

Modernizing network security doesn’t have to mean a risky rip-and-replace project. One of the biggest misconceptions around software-defined perimeter technology is that it requires re-architecting your entire environment before you can see value. It doesn’t.

With DxOdyssey Software-Defined Perimeter, you can start small, prove the model, and expand at your own pace.

Here’s how to begin:

1. Download and try it for free. DxOdyssey offers a free trial, so you can validate the technology in your own environment before committing to anything.
2. Deploy on any infrastructure. Install it on-prem, in the cloud, in hybrid environments, or across multi-cloud deployments — no specialized hardware required.
3. Start with a single use case. Secure one database cluster, one admin access path, or one high-value application to see how identity-based, application-level access changes your security posture.
4. Overlay, don’t overhaul. DxOdyssey works alongside your existing infrastructure, allowing you to modernize incrementally rather than disrupt mission-critical systems.

The key is lowering the barrier to entry. You don’t need a months-long migration plan to explore SDP. You can deploy, test, and evaluate within your own network, using your own workloads, and determine how a Zero Trust, application-level approach performs in real conditions. Modern security shouldn’t feel like a leap of faith. With DxOdyssey, it’s a practical first step you can take today.

Please reach out to our team at [email protected] if you have any questions, and don’t hesitate to request a personalized demo if you’d like to see the software in action before you try it yourself.

If you’re interested in learning more about DH2i’s approach to smart high availability technology, get signed up for a one-on-one demo today.

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The author

Don Boxley Jr

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