Zero Trust Network Access is one of the hottest tech topics. But is it right for your organisation? Let’s find out more.
Every year, more and more organisations are migrating their remote access architecture to Zero Trust Network Access. In public, they generally cite one or both of two reasons for switching to Zero Trust:
- Performance - replacing VPNs as the primary remote access mechanism to their networks and data due to latency issues with their existing VPN architecture.
- Security - Zero Trust can bolster security in a world where enterprise data is scattered across on-premise and multi-cloud environments and accessed in more ways than ever before.
However, if you look more closely, other factors may be at play. In this article, we’ll look at other reasons why Zero Trust Network Access may be the way to go for your company.
VPN replacement
Many organisations are implementing Zero Trust tactically as a VPN replacement approach. For these companies, their primary use cases are to:
- Ensure secure access to internal apps for remote workers
- Offer remote access for the extended workforce
- Provide secure access to users with privileged accounts
Like a VPN, Zero Trust Network Access can meet these use cases and does it differently. Rather than establishing Trust only at the connection point between a device and the network, it verifies access requests and builds trust context throughout the user’s visit to the network.
However, the benefits Zero Trust can offer organisations go above and beyond those of VPNs.
Benefits of Zero Trust
Where Zero Trust Network Access excels is in offering flexibility and responsiveness. It allows organisations to create better connections and enable collaboration between:
- Digital business ecosystems
- Remote workers
- Third-parties
Moreover, it does it without sacrificing security or usability - today and in the future.
Focusing on security, Zero Trust allows companies to enforce security protocols for personal devices entering their business networks through bring-your-own technology programs, making them as strong as they choose. It isolates the enterprise’s highest-value, mission-critical applications, making them safer. It also reduces the potential attack surface by cutting applications and networks off the public internet.
Usability is also key with Zero Trust, allowing users outside the company ecosystem to access applications securely. You can also create flexible access control personas based on a higher number of variables, including:
- Device
- Location
- Time of access
Finally, Zero Trust incorporates an element of future-proofing, allowing for a secure connection between your internet of things (IoT) devices and the company network. As more companies use the potential of IoT and other technologies, this benefit of Zero Trust becomes all the more important.
Is it right for you?
Zero Trust is a great option if you’re looking for a new access control architecture that performs better than your legacy VPN. It gives you secure access to your company network, applications and data, but in a much more seamless way.
However, when you look deeper and see the extra benefits of Zero Trust Network Access, you discover that it is the next level of access control and essential for your organisation as you look to maintain your edge.
