· Tailscale
Tailscale: reaching office servers without opening ports
How staff reach the office server from home or a van, with no port forwarding and no VPN box to maintain, and what the free plan covers.
What it is
Tailscale joins your laptops, phones and servers into one private network, wherever they are. Staff reach the office server from home or a van as if they were at their desk.
Why I use it for clients
There is no port opened on the office router and no VPN box to patch. Each person signs in with the Google or Microsoft account they already have, and leaving staff are removed in one place.
What it costs you
A free plan covers a small number of users and devices; larger teams pay per user each month. Check the current plan limits against your headcount before we start.
Where it stops
It depends on a company outside the UK for the sign-in step. If that is not acceptable for your data, a self-hosted alternative exists and takes more of my time to run.
Verdict
The simplest safe way to reach an office server from outside. Ask about the self-hosted option if your sector rules out the hosted sign-in.