Why Top AI Firms Are Ditching VDI to Secure Contractors

A company specializing in training AI agents for mid-sized enterprises found itself at a critical inflection point: leadership needed to continue expanding business while keeping customer data secure on its contractors’ personal laptops. Growth was accelerating at an exponential rate, with new customers being signed almost daily. However, data security concerns were only continuing to grow.

As the firm scaled, more customers began asking the same question: how is our data being secured while your team develops our AI agents?

With an international team of software developers and AI specialists working primarily on personal devices, securing sensitive data in a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) environment became paramount. Protecting third-party information wasn’t just a technical requirement, it was foundational to sustaining trust and fueling continued growth.

The firm explored Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, but the lag, latency, and steadily climbing infrastructure costs made it hard to justify the ROI. As the CIO explained, “If we have to go back to VDI, we might as well just ship them a laptop.”

But sending corporate devices would have worked against the firm’s lean operating model and slowed international onboarding — not ideal to implement in the middle of rapid expansion.

If the company wanted to continue multiplying business partnerships and expanding into larger accounts, it needed a scalable solution to encrypt and isolate its customers’ data on unmanaged contractor laptops – without compromising performance, cost efficiency, or developer productivity.

The Challenge: Protecting Customer Data Without Slowing Contractors or Sacrificing Margins

With AI agent developers supporting enterprises across a wide range of industries, each contractor required a different mix of applications and browser-based tools depending on their projects. Most workflows involved Microsoft 365, Slack, AWS or Azure environments, secure file storage, and development tools like VS Code to build and deploy AI agents. The expectation  was simple: contractors should be able to download what they need and start contributing immediately.

At the same time, the firm was preparing to double its contractor workforce within a month, increasing the pressure to implement infrastructure that could scale just as quickly as the business itself.

To achieve that goal, the organization needed a solution that could:

• Secure sensitive data across a global BYOD workforce
• Encrypt client environments without slowing down developers
• Support rapid onboarding as the contractor base doubled
• Integrate seamlessly with Microsoft 365, Slack, AWS, Azure and other browser-based tools
• Protect browser activity, file storage, and SQL workflows
• Maintain profitability without the added cost associated with VDI infrastructure

Venn’s Blue Border™: Powering Secure Growth for Global BYOD Developer Teams

The company first discovered Venn while supporting another client already using the platform. After onboarding a single contractor into Blue Border™, the team quickly saw how intuitive and effective it was in real-world use.

Venn provides a practical alternative to costly, infrastructure-heavy VDI solutions: a secure, encrypted workspace installed directly on contractors’ personal devices. Work lives inside a company-controlled secure enclave on their Mac or PC, visually indicated by the Blue Border™,where business activity is isolated and encrypted from any personal use on the same computer.

Onboarding is fast and lightweight. IT simply shares the Venn agent, contractors install it on their devices, and log in with MFA. Once local security requirements are verified, users gain immediate access to approved applications within Blue Border™, including Microsoft 365, Teams, Slack, AWS and Azure browser sessions, and secure file storage, all while maintaining full separation of work and personal activity.

Key Benefits with Venn

• Rapid global contractor onboarding
  • Contractors around the world can be onboarded within minutes on personal devices.
• Secure BYOD without VDI
  • Venn’s Blue Border™ secures company data on unmanaged laptops, avoiding the cost and latency of VDI.
• Enterprise-grade protection for sensitive customer data
  • All work activity stays inside Blue Border™, where applications, files, and browser sessions are encrypted and isolated, while personal activity remains private to the user.
• Seamless identity and access enforcement
  • MFA authentication, device posture verification, and customizable DLP policies ensure only authorized, compliant users have access to protected environments.
• Supports real-world developer and cloud workflows
  • Microsoft 365, Teams, Slack, AWS, Azure, OneDrive, and browser-based applications run securely inside Blue Border™.
    

The Result: Secure AI Firm Expansion Without Operational Drag

After deploying Blue Border™ within a live client environment, the firm quickly saw the impact. Contractors worked seamlessly on their own devices, while sensitive enterprise data remained fully encrypted, isolated, and under company control.

For leadership, the value was clear: secure contractor activity without friction, performance tradeoffs, or new hardware overhead. Venn wasn’t just functional – it solved a structural growth challenge. As the CIO put it, it was a “really cool product” that delivered enterprise-grade protection without slowing the business down.

Today, AI developers install Venn, authenticate with MFA, and are productive within minutes, accessing Microsoft 365, collaboration tools, and cloud environments inside a protected workspace. Compatibility issues, latency, and workflow disruption are no longer concerns.

With security no longer a bottleneck, the organization can scale its AI capabilities and onboard specialized talent from day one  — without compromising compliance, performance, and profit margin.

Ready to see Blue Border in action? Book a demo HERE.