Companies are trading legacy cloud proxies for on-device security that doesn't backhaul traffic. Here's what a modern replacement looks like, what you keep, and how the switch actually goes.

What is a legacy cloud proxy, and why are companies replacing it?

A legacy cloud proxy is a secure web gateway that routes all of a user's traffic through the vendor's data center to inspect it, an approach called backhauling. It was built for an office era where everyone sat behind the same network. Companies are replacing it because backhauling adds latency, cost, and failure points for a workforce that now works from laptops, homes, and airports. Traffic takes a detour before it ever reaches the internet.

What replaces a legacy cloud proxy in 2026?

The modern replacement is an on-device secure web gateway that inspects traffic locally instead of routing it through a data center. dope.security calls this Fly-Direct: security runs as a lightweight agent on the laptop, SSL inspection happens on the device, and traffic goes straight to its destination. You keep URL filtering, SSL inspection, malware blocking, and DLP without the backhaul detour.

Can you replace a cloud proxy with an endpoint agent?

Yes. An endpoint agent can do everything a cloud proxy does, including SSL inspection, URL filtering, Cloud Application Control, anti-malware, and DLP, without sending traffic to a remote data center first. dope.security runs all of this on-device from a single agent under 100 MB of RAM. Because inspection happens locally, there's no network detour, which is why on-device gateways run up to 4x faster than legacy proxy SWGs.

Does replacing a cloud proxy mean giving up SSL inspection?

No. You keep full SSL inspection, it just happens in a different place. With a legacy proxy, SSL is decrypted inside the vendor's data center. With dope.security, SSL inspection runs on the device itself, so encrypted traffic is inspected locally and the decrypted data never leaves the machine. That's better for privacy and data residency, not worse.

How long does it take to migrate off a legacy cloud proxy?

Days, not months. Because the replacement is an agent rather than an appliance or a data-center build, you deploy it silently through your existing MDM. Outreach Health secured 99% of its devices within a week. A Fortune 100 company scaled from 900 to more than 18,000 devices in a matter of weeks, about 3,000 a week, deployed silently via Intune with no manual configuration.

Will a cloud proxy replacement work for a remote or hybrid workforce?

A modern on-device replacement works better for remote and hybrid teams than a legacy proxy does. Policy follows the user instead of the network, so protection is identical whether someone is in the office, at home, or traveling. The City of Visalia moved to dope.security specifically because perimeter-based policies stopped following its 700+ employees once they went mobile.

What should I look for in a cloud proxy replacement?

Look for on-device inspection with no backhaul, fast deployment through your MDM, a single console for policy, real-time policy push, and coverage in the places your people actually work, including restricted geographies. dope.security delivers SWG, CASB, and DLP under one console, pushes policy in seconds, and runs in 83+ countries. Avoid replacements that simply move the same backhaul model to a different data center.

Do legacy cloud proxies work in China?

Legacy cloud proxies often struggle in China and other restricted geographies because backhauling traffic through distant data centers runs into the Great Firewall, causing latency and broken connections. An on-device gateway avoids this because inspection happens locally and traffic flies direct. dope.security works in China and across 83+ countries where backhaul-based SWGs like Zscaler, Netskope, and Forcepoint tend to fail.

See it fly direct

Inspect on the device, skip the backhaul, deploy in minutes. Try dope.security free or book a 20-minute demo at dope.security.