Selecting the right Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution is essential for organizations aiming to secure their digital environments efficiently, yet it involves navigating a complex landscape of options.
How can organizations find the right solution, while balancing compatibility with existing infrastructure, scalability, and a seamless user experience alongside stringent security controls?
We asked 3 experts to share their insights on the critical considerations for choosing the most effective ZTNA solution.
Anupam Upadhyaya, Vice President, Prisma SASE: In order to achieve true zero trust, organizations must look for a solution that not only secures all of their users and all of their applications, but also a solution that delivers an exceptional end user experience. In order to be effective, security must act in real time and leverage the power of AI.
Furthermore, in order to deliver an exceptional user experience, you need a solution that has cloud scale, is resilient and can provide precise root cause analysis, from the user’s environment to the app, to resolve user to app performance issues faster and deliver exceptional user experiences.
Finally, all of this must be integrated into a unified platform that gives them a single pane of glass to enforce consistent policies and security throughout their network. Read the full Q&A.
Nirav Shah, SVP, Products and Services, Fortinet: The most important thing is to find a ZTNA solution that already works with your existing technology and infrastructure. This will make the rollout easier and streamline operations. IT time is precious, so it’s important to optimize and save on costs.
A solution that leverages a unified client for both VPN and ZTNA will also make the transition to ZTNA easier, keep business operations efficient, and reduce risk overall. Bonus points if the client also covers endpoint.
Going beyond ZTNA with Universal ZNTA is also important. Universal ZTNA applies zero-trust principles across the network no matter the location. This ensures all users have the same experience whether they are working remotely or onsite.
Additionally, it’s critical to choose a ZTNA solution that is regularly updated against new and emerging threats and has a track record of covering new use cases. This ensures you’re continually protected as the threat landscape evolves and future-proofed against new business needs like thin edges and Operational Technology (OT). Read the full Q&A.
Andrius Buinovskis, Head of Product, NordLayer: It is extremely important to start with the use cases and not stick to industry-common naming; due to market fragmentation, the same use case might be covered with different tooling. In the VPN field, CISOs must look for extras as a mere VPN service becomes obsolete. Modern solutions provide a great deal of capabilities, such as anti-malware functions, dark web monitoring, DNS filtering, scans of downloaded files, etc.
Needless to say, speed remains one of the most important factors in the ZTNA field. Again, CISOs need to start with the use cases and prepare a network segmentation map (who has access to what). Additional security layers would be controls, such as when (time) and from where (device, location) these resources can be accessed.
Then, they need to look for a solution that constantly checks if the right person using the right device in the right context can access the specific resources. Solutions described by the following buzzwords can target most of the conditions mentioned: 2FA, Biometrics, Device posture security, Location policies, Time policies, Cloud Firewall, etc. Read the full Q&A.
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