The article explores the differences and similarities between proxy networks and VPNs, highlighting that while both provide third-party mediated website access, proxies primarily redirect web requests for purposes like data collection, load balancing, and appearing as individual users, whereas VPNs focus on anonymizing network traffic and altering geolocation for personal use. Proxies are more business-oriented, assisting in data collection for price comparison, brand protection, competitive intelligence, ad verification, and search engine monitoring. They allow businesses to gather accurate data by routing requests through localized IPs, thus avoiding issues related to using a single IP for high-volume requests. Besides data collection, proxies are also used for web monitoring and user experience verification. Despite misconceptions about their cost, proxies offer various pricing options to cater to different business needs. The article notes the historical origin of proxy networks with UC Berkeley's 1997 'TranSend' project and suggests that businesses can leverage proxies for competitive intelligence and identifying consumer trends, thus expanding their market reach.