SoftEther VPN works easily, and extremely well through Azure, client-to-server, and in Layer 3 bridge mode between offices but it is not so easy to use from mobile devices, although we have had success, albeit with difficulty in the configuration.
If your organization has a full-time IT department or support staff, SonicWall VPN Clients might be a good fit. Configuration can be challenging if you're a small business office manager who HAPPENS to take care of IT (as in my case). Still, once the SonicWall VPN Clients is configured, it works pretty well and at minimal ongoing cost. We opted for extended support from the manufacturer just in case we run into issues that we can't address internally.
It just works—I have never had a single call from a client or end-user complaining that their VPN wasn't working.
It can be configured to be super easy for end-users to use—Nearly transparent to them, in fact.
It is very lightweight on devices and works extremely fast. So fast, in fact, that about the only issue I ever have with SoftEther VPN are related to users sometimes forgetting they are working remotely.
We have has some issues where their default port won't connect through an AT&T wireless AP, but creating an exception for it on the AP or changing the port always gets it working.
Phone support has been very reliable and useful, but there have been times when better support documentation would have made that call unnecessary. I like to tackle problems internally if I can, as it tends to save time and usually money. The SonicWall VPN Clients system seems to be pretty locked down as far as being accessible to self-manage.
I had experienced several reliability issues soon after Pertino VPN-as-a-Service was acquired by Cradlepoint where the service would go down for a supposed update but would be down for long periods. And that was just one of several issues that caused me grief. I started looking around for a suitable replacement and came across SoftEther VPN, a project by the University of Tsukuba, Japan, quite by accident. I fell in love with its ease of implementation, low device cost, ease of Admin control, and ease of use for end-users, in addition to its near-zero downtime reliability, and the fact that I have total control over its operation and maintenance.
We started the process of vetting Norton VPN, but since it wasn't available from our preferred vendor, we ended up going with SonicWall VPN Clients by default.
I went from a Pertino/Cradlepoint VPN-as-a-Service requiring no hardware to a SoftEther VPN Client/Server configuration and that required the purchase of a tiny server to run SEVPN. It could have been a Linux box or Windows and I chose Windows, so there was a minimal cost for the Windows 10 device but it eliminated the monthly service cost and has historically been far more reliable.
We went from about $12/user/month on Cradlepoint perimeter81 to $0/user/month after about a $500 investment in hardware, so just one of my clients has been saving $300/month after the initial $500 for the "Server" device.
