Summary: Social networking app Meet5 unified its network and VPN access, cutting security management down to just one hour per week with NordLayer.
Meet5 is a social networking app that makes it easy for people to plan small group activities and make new friends. Launched in Germany in 2017, the app now has over 3.5 million users across Europe and North America. The company has grown quickly, expanding from 30 to more than 75 employees.
Most of the team works on a hybrid schedule out of the Frankfurt office. Meet5 also employs remote engineers across Europe. Managing this distributed team called for a reliable business VPN for secure access to company resources.
We talked to Viktor Mogurenko, Cybersecurity Engineer at Meet5, about how NordLayer has helped with centralized security management and VPN access.
Before adopting NordLayer, security at Meet5 was decentralized. Engineering teams used their own private VPNs and managed infrastructure access independently. This forced employees to share static login credentials through a password manager.
This setup created security gaps and lacked network visibility. Meet5 wanted to ensure reliable, secure VPN access for all team members working outside the office or traveling.
The company needed an enterprise-grade VPN solution with centralized security. Meet5 also needed the ability to create multiple gateways and use dedicated IP addresses to separate different user groups.
“Our previous setup was not ideal from a security standpoint. Each team managed their own VPN access separately, and login details were just shared through a password manager. We lacked the control and tracking we needed for a growing team.”
To find the right fit, Viktor researched security solutions by checking reviews on platforms like G2 and Gartner. He compared features, ease of use, compatibility with the company’s infrastructure, and prices. NordLayer stood out as a budget-friendly security solution built for scalable businesses. It also offered the features Meet5 needed.
At first, Viktor just wanted to test the waters and see how NordLayer would actually hold up with network speeds during daily operations. He requested a 2-month trial for 20 users before expanding it to the whole company.
“Since we are still a startup, pricing and easy security management were very important to us. We started with a trial for 20 users to test NordLayer, and once we saw it ran smoothly, we rolled it out to everyone.”
Meet5 replaced multiple vendors and fragmented systems with one solution: NordLayer. By using dedicated IPs mapped to custom user groups, the company moved away from risky credential sharing.
“NordLayer serves as our primary business VPN and access manager. It allows us to restrict access to specific resources so they can only be reached through our dedicated IP addresses.”
Configuring a VPN in NordLayer’s Control Panel
Setting up NordLayer for the whole team only took a couple of hours. The most time-consuming part was organizing employees into groups and assigning them to specific gateways.
User management is now straightforward. When a new employee joins Meet5, Viktor adds them to the list and sends an invite to their work email address. The new hire accepts the link, installs the app, and is ready to work securely.
“The central control panel saves us so much time. Onboarding is now very easy—I just add new hires to a list, send an email, and they are good to go. I only spend about an hour a week managing NordLayer.”
Inviting and assigning new members in NordLayer’s Control Panel
The majority of the Meet5 team (95%) works from the Frankfurt office, but several engineers are based across Europe. The company uses NordLayer’s access control features to build strong perimeter defenses:
“We use country restrictions to block connections from regions where our people don’t work. This gives us an extra layer of protection, ensuring our core servers stay safe even if individual VPN credentials are compromised.”
Using NordLayer for over a year has delivered clear outcomes for Meet5’s security and operations:
NordLayer fits Meet5 well because it combines advanced business features with a centralized, intuitive control panel.
By using a business VPN paired with a dedicated IP, the company simplified secure access to its resources and protected its cloud environments. Now, whenever team members work from outside the office, they connect through the VPN, and Viktor has a clear overview of the network.
“Does NordLayer help us save money? It depends on how you look at it. If we ever have an incident and we have to pay out like hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, sure, in that way it does help us save money. But the reality is that it’s primarily for security compliance and for us to be able to control our network and resource access.”
Viktor Mogurenko shares 3 practical tips for growing businesses looking to protect their operations.
Meet5’s story proves that as a hybrid startup grows, it must upgrade its network security to protect its team and data. By replacing unsafe, scattered security practices with NordLayer, Meet5 unified its workflows, secured its remote employees, and cut admin work down to just an hour a week.
Tired of managing scattered security for your hybrid team? Explore NordLayer’s product plans to find the right fit for your business, and book your personalized demo.
Joanna Krysińska
Senior Copywriter
Joanna's family has a history in math and engineering, and she has dedicated her life to simplifying complicated technical ideas. She helps people understand how hackers think and how to stay ahead of them by concentrating on the human side of cybersecurity.
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