Why Do Call Centers Use VPN (And How to Use It)

Call Centers VPN

The last four years have created a major shift in the workplace. Companies are allowing more remote workers or have shifted towards third-party support for roles like call centers.

This shift has been supported largely by businesses utilizing Virtual Private Networks to help give employees a secure connection to the company server. Accessing remote servers through a VPN connection has also given employees the ability to remotely access a customer’s computer to help with technical support.

In this blog post, we will discuss the benefits of utilizing a VPN for call centers, which companies should use it (like technology and SaaS companies), how it works, and best practices for using a VPN for a call center. Let’s get started!

Quick Takeaways

  • Network: A network is a set of interconnected computers, devices, or systems that share resources and information through communication channels. These communication channels can be physical, such as cables and wires, or wireless, using technologies like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
  • Virtual private network: A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure and encrypted network connection established over the internet, allowing users to access private networks and share data remotely. By creating a virtual tunnel between the user’s device and the VPN server, VPNs enhance privacy and security by encrypting the IP address as well as the transmitted data, preventing unauthorized access or monitoring as well as an improved online experience.
  • Call center: A call center is a centralized office where trained agents handle incoming and outgoing telephone calls on behalf of a business or organization. These agents work to efficiently address customer inquiries, resolve issues, or provide support services, ensuring streamlined communication and customer satisfaction.
  • Remote work: Remote work refers to the practice of completing job tasks from a location other than a traditional office, often from one’s home or another remote setting. It offers flexibility and autonomy to employees, allowing them to better balance work and personal life while also reducing commute time and associated costs.

Why Should You Use a VPN?

A VPN offers plenty of benefits for companies that have a call center.

Whether you’re looking for remote employees to have a secure internet connection, grow your business securely, offer a VPN connection when they’re using a public Wi-Fi network, or even give them the option to be able to work remotely with an extra layer of security for your data.

Data Security

Due to the sensitive nature of the information being handled, using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is essential for protecting data in a call center environment.

With a VPN, all communication between the call center agents and the central servers is encrypted, ensuring that any data transmitted, such as customer information or financial details, remains secure and inaccessible to unauthorized parties.

Security for Mobile Devices

With many companies allowing remote agents to work from home instead of a call center, often employees are using mobile phones or mobile devices to make VoIP calls. Since mobile devices or personal devices are at high risk, using a VPN service to provide a secure tunnel and protect against online activity is key to ensuring that the home internet connection is safe.

This encryption is particularly crucial when agents are accessing the call center’s network from remote locations, as it shields sensitive data from potential interception by hackers or malicious actors on public Wi-Fi networks.

Securing the Integrity of the Network

A VPN can help safeguard the integrity of the call center’s network infrastructure by preventing unauthorized access and potential cyberattacks.

By routing all traffic through a secure VPN tunnel, the call center can mitigate the risk of data breaches and protect against common threats, such as phishing attempts or malware infiltration, that agents are commonly exposed to through internet traffic.

VPNs often include features such as:

  • Firewalls
  • Intrusion detection systems

This further fortifies the network against cyber threats and ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data within the call center environment.

Integrating a VPN into the call center’s security protocols is a proactive measure to enhance data protection and maintain trust with customers by safeguarding their personal information.

Access to Internal Systems

Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is essential for accessing internal data in a call center environment due to the need for secure and private connections.

Securing Remote Connection

With a VPN, call center agents can securely connect to the internal network from remote IP addresses while encrypting the data transmitted between their devices and the central servers. This encryption ensures that sensitive information, such as customer records or proprietary data, remains protected from interception by unauthorized parties.

Additional Layer of Security

Moreover, a business VPN provides an additional layer of security by authenticating users before granting them access to internal resources. By requiring agents to authenticate through a VPN client with unique credentials, the call center can verify their identity and restrict access to authorized personnel only.

This helps prevent unauthorized individuals or malicious actors from gaining entry into the internal network and potentially compromising sensitive data. Additionally, VPNs often include features such as multi-factor authentication and network segmentation, further enhancing security measures and ensuring that internal data remains protected against unauthorized access or cyber threats.

Overall, integrating a VPN into the call center’s infrastructure is a proactive approach to safeguarding internal data and maintaining the trust of customers and stakeholders.

Geo-Redundancy and Disaster Recovery

Implementing a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is crucial for ensuring business continuity and minimizing downtime during unforeseen events.

Geo-Redundancy

By leveraging VPN technology, call centers can establish secure connections between different geographic locations, allowing data from the corporate network to be replicated and synchronized in real time across multiple sites.

This redundancy ensures that if one server location experiences an outage or disaster, operations can seamlessly transition to another location without disruption to network traffic, maintaining uninterrupted service for customers.

Efficient Disaster Recovery

Working with a VPN provider can help provide efficient disaster recovery strategies by enabling rapid data recovery and restoration in the event of a system failure or catastrophic event. Through VPN connections, call center data backups can be securely stored in remote locations, safeguarding against data loss and enabling quick recovery in case of emergencies.

With VPNs, call centers can implement failover mechanisms that automatically redirect traffic to redundant servers or backup sites, minimizing downtime and ensuring continuous access to critical resources even during crises.

Leveraging VPN technology for geo-redundancy and disaster recovery strengthens the resilience of call center operations, ensuring uninterrupted service delivery and preserving customer satisfaction in the face of adverse events.

How Call Centers Can Use VPN

Call centers utilize a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to securely connect agents to the internal network, ensuring encrypted communication and safeguarding sensitive data during remote access. Here are some real examples of how you can use a VPN in your call center.

#1: Remote Agent Access

While you may have a call center staffed with full-time agents, you will often need to utilize a mobile agent for non-peak hours or overflow.

A VPN offers privacy tools, and location masking to help secure access to your private servers from a remote office or any location a remote call center agent may be working from. It will also offer additional options for authentication to help ensure that anyone remotely accessing your server needs to do so.

#2: Secure Customer Data Handling

A VPN enables a call center to encrypt all communication between agents and central servers, ensuring the secure transmission of sensitive customer data.

By providing a secure tunnel for data transmission, a VPN helps mitigate the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access, enhancing the call center’s ability to handle customer information securely.

#3: Access to Centralized Systems

A VPN allows remote users to access company resources using remote devices with an additional level of encryption.

A secure network connection is key to ensuring the security of your internal network, and utilizing a VPN is the best practice for allowing others to access the centralized system.

#4: Internal Communication

VPN providers facilitate secure internal communication within a call center by encrypting data exchanged between agents and central servers, safeguarding against unauthorized access.

By establishing a private and encrypted network connection, a VPN ensures that sensitive information shared during internal communication remains protected from potential eavesdropping or interception.

#5: Monitoring and Reporting

A key piece of a VPN is monitoring and reporting the network. Securely transmitting data to centralized monitoring systems ensures the integrity and confidentiality of the information collected. With encrypted connections provided by VPNs, call centers can track and analyze performance metrics, ensuring accurate reporting while safeguarding against unauthorized access to sensitive monitoring data.

#6: Outsourced Call Center Operations

Mobile users who work in an outsourced location may use remote devices to access the company network. Oftentimes, they may be in a location that has content restrictions on regional content.

A VPN provides location spoofing and offers a secure means for outsourced call center resources to access a company’s central network infrastructure. It enables seamless communication and collaboration while safeguarding sensitive data.

By encrypting data transmission between the company’s network and external call center resources, VPNs ensure the confidentiality and integrity of information shared, enhancing security and compliance measures.

Create a Bulletproof Security Strategy with Perimeter81

If you’re ready to implement a VPN in your call center, the first step is to work with a reputable provider. Perimeter81 is built to work with your business network and offers robust cloud network security to help provide the support and extra security your organization needs in your call center.

Implementing a VPN for your call center can help improve the customer experience provided by your customer service team, and will help to secure protocols that are already in place.

Ready to take the next step in your business? Contact our team at Perimeter81 to start discussing how we can help you, today!

FAQs

Why do companies use VPN networks?
VPNs offer enhanced security and remote access to the network server, which allows a company to work more efficiently.
What is a VPN in a call center?
Using a VPN in a call center helps companies transmit data securely and keep customer data encrypted.
What is the point of a VPN?
VPN, or Virtual Private Network, allows for remote access and secure encryption of private data. Many companies use this to enhance productivity, allow remote work, and increase the encryption levels of secure data.
Does a VPN protect phone calls?
VPN does not protect standard voice calls or texts, but when paired with VoIP, your calls may be protected.
What is one benefit of a company for using a VPN?
Securing data helps maintain the company’s private information, which can improve security and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.

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