Since virtual private networks were invented nearly 30 years ago as a way to extend a corporate network across the work, they’ve gone through a complete role reversal, even as they’ve continued to evolve to help protect business users’ data and communications. Today’s VPN is now the linchpin for a series of edge business security technologies, taking center stage thanks to a few trends: the popularity of hybrid working conditions brought on by the COVID pandemic, the movement to the cloud away from on-premises servers, and the acceptance of software-as-a-service tools that made it easier to deploy and manage these clouds.