Proton debuts VPN for Business, enabling IT departments to control access to content and apps

Proton VPN, the virtual private network company created in Switzerland by former scientists at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), today announced a new offering geared toward businesses and organizations.

The aptly named Proton VPN for Business starts at $8.99 per month (on a two-year contract) and enables IT departments to deploy virtual private gateways to control access to content and apps, as well as network segmentation. It also comes with built-in protections against malware, phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks. And it is open-source, allowing experts to independently verify its security claims.

Furthermore, it is designed to support remote and hybrid teams who may need to securely access company databases from around the globe, including on public networks like those at coffee shops, cafes, restaurants, hotels and convention centers, which may on their own leave business users open to malicious activity.

Building upon initial grassroots success

Though Proton is already used by more than 50,000 businesses internationally, including Fortune 500 companies, Proton VPN for Business is designed to build upon this initial success (the company was founded in 2017) and create a more standardized, yet flexible, product category for other companies looking to safeguard access to their data.

“Proton VPN’s focus on transparency and security, backed by our open source philosophy, has made Proton VPN one of the world’s most popular and trusted VPN services and in recent years, businesses looking for a VPN have increasingly taken note,” said Andy Yen, founder and CEO of Proton. “As a result, even without a dedicated business offering, we have onboarded thousands of business users in the past couple years, so making the offering official today is a natural next step forward for Proton.”

Among the features included with Proton VPN for Business are Proton VPN Accelerator, Stealth protocol, and Alternative Routing.

Private gateways and security compliance

Proton says organizations using the new Proton VPN for Business can instantly deploy “private gateways” that are “only accessible to specifically authorized members and groups within an organization, making it easy for businesses to limit and segment access.”

No hardware is needed — the company’s solution is entirely software-based for customers.

“This also makes it easier for businesses to meet the requirements of security certifications such as ISO 27001, SOC2, and more,” the company wrote in a press release.

In addition, Proton notes that its home base of Switzerland is advantageous for the company and its customers as it abides by strict privacy laws and a tradition of neutrality in its treatment of data.

Proton also offers a more customizable “Proton VPN Enterprise” tier for organizations with specific needs. This tier has variable pricing depending on the requirements of the VPN setup.

With nearly one third of the web’s 5 billion users using a VPN as of 2023, and the total market size estimated at $44.6 billion, according to DataProt, Proton is savvy to debut a new offering in the space.

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