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Zero trust network access (ZTNA) controls how users and devices reach specific applications, rather than treating a connection to the corporate network as permission to move broadly inside it. A June 2026 buyer guide names eight representative sellers: Zscaler, Netskope, Palo Alto Networks, Cisco, Check Point, Microsoft, Cloudflare and Cato Networks. What you receive depends on the product’s architecture, integrations, license and add-ons, so compare vendors against your own applications and access scenarios—not just their VPN-replacement claims.
What does ZTNA do?
The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) defines ZTNA as “an architectural approach for controlling how users and devices access applications over a network.” In practical terms, it aims to authorize access to named applications or resources using identity and context, rather than treating network location alone as trustworthy.
That distinction matters because traditional perimeter access can authenticate a user at the boundary and then grant broad reach inside the network. If an account or device is compromised, broad access can increase the opportunity for lateral movement. Microsoft’s zero-trust guidance recommends placing controls closer to applications and resources, using identity and device signals, segmenting access and evaluating sessions continuously.
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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →ZTNA is an architectural approach, not a single product feature or a synonym for every VPN replacement. A product’s label is less important than whether its policies actually restrict access to the intended applications and resources.
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- Advanced Threat Protection: Integrated with Fortinet’s AI-powered FortiGuard Labs, the FortiGate 40F offers comprehensive cybersecurity, identifying and mitigating both known and unknown threats to maintain robust security across your network.
- Simplified Management and Deployment: Features a user-friendly management console that provides comprehensive network automation and visibility, coupled with Zero Touch Integration with Fortinet’s Security Fabric for easy deployment.
Who sells ZTNA?
The June 2026 CIOPages buyer guide lists these eight representative vendors. Its groupings are useful for orientation, not a ranking or proof that one approach is better. This is a starting shortlist, not a complete inventory of the market.
| Broad positioning in the buyer guide | Vendor and product named | What the available product description says |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud-security platforms | Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) | Zscaler describes private-app access and features including user-to-app and workload-to-workload segmentation, privileged remote access, browser access, an on-premises Private Service Edge, business continuity, partner access and experience monitoring. Confirm which are in the proposed edition and which cost extra. |
| Cloud-security platforms | Netskope One Private Access | Netskope describes private-application access and highlights VPN replacement, third-party and BYOD access, cloud migration and DevOps as use cases. These are vendor-stated use cases, not independent performance findings. |
| Network-security incumbents | Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access | Named as a representative vendor in the CIOPages guide; the reviewed material does not provide a like-for-like feature description for this product. |
| Network-security incumbents | Cisco Secure Access | Named as a representative vendor. Cisco’s feature comparison, updated April 2025, compares Cisco with Zscaler and Palo Alto Networks; treat its feature and packaging claims as vendor assertions to validate. |
| Network-security incumbents | Check Point Harmony SASE | Named as a representative vendor in the CIOPages guide; the reviewed material does not provide a like-for-like feature description for this product. |
| Identity and edge platforms | Microsoft Entra Private Access / Global Secure Access | Microsoft describes identity- and context-based application access, with sessions evaluated using identity, device posture, risk and location signals. Its guidance also recommends avoiding public exposure of private applications. |
| Identity and edge platforms | Cloudflare Access / Cloudflare One | Named as a representative vendor in the CIOPages guide; the reviewed material does not provide a like-for-like feature description for this product. |
| Converged SASE | Cato Networks | Named as a representative vendor in the CIOPages guide; the reviewed material does not provide a like-for-like feature description for this product. |
These group labels describe broad market positioning, not a guarantee of product fit. Branding, packaging and licensing can change; check current vendor documentation and the actual quote before procurement. The capability descriptions above are vendor-authored where noted and should be verified in a demonstration or pilot.
What should a ZTNA purchase include?
There is no single standard bundle implied by the ZTNA label. Depending on the offering and license, a buyer may be purchasing private-application access, policy controls, connectors or gateways, identity and device-context integrations, administration and logging, and operational support. Some vendors position ZTNA within broader security service edge (SSE) or secure access service edge (SASE) platforms; others may be considered as a more focused access product.
Translate the sales proposal into a written scope. For each required capability, record whether it is included in the quoted edition, requires an add-on, depends on another service, or is not supported. In particular, distinguish an advertised feature from one that is available to your users, endpoints, applications and deployment model under the proposed terms.
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- OPTIMIZED FOR MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES: Tailored for businesses needing robust security without the infrastructure of larger enterprises.
- RELIABLE CUSTOMER SUPPORT: FortiCare Premium ensures high-quality support and service continuity.
- EFFECTIVE PROTECTION: Employs advanced filtering technologies to safeguard against sophisticated threats.
- Access scope: Identify the private applications, resources and workloads that users must reach, and whether policy can grant access to each one without providing broad network reach.
- Connection components: Document required connectors, gateways or service edges, where they will run, and how traffic reaches them.
- Identity and device signals: Confirm the identity provider, device-posture inputs and any risk or location conditions the policy can use.
- Nonstandard access: Check support for browser-based or clientless sessions, unmanaged devices, contractors and suppliers, as well as any data-handling controls those scenarios require.
- Operations: Establish what administrators can see in logs, how policy changes are managed, what troubleshooting and experience-monitoring tools are available, and what support is included.
- Commercial scope: Separate the ZTNA license from required platform licenses, add-ons, implementation services, support and infrastructure that will remain in use.
How to compare vendors for your environment
Use the same requirements and test cases for every shortlisted product. Microsoft’s guidance supports evaluating identity and context, segmentation, ongoing session evaluation and private access; the CIOPages guide highlights the strategic choice between a focused product and a broader SSE/SASE platform. Cisco’s April 2025 comparison can help identify questions about feature availability and packaging, but it is not an independent test.
1. Check application and protocol coverage
Build an inventory that includes private web applications, thick-client applications, legacy protocols and cloud workloads. Include operational technology or industrial systems if they are in scope. Ask the vendor to demonstrate each required application and protocol using your actual access path; do not infer support from a generic “private app” claim.
2. Test whether access is genuinely granular
For each user group, write down the exact applications it should reach. Verify that a successful connection to one application does not grant unintended access to others or to the surrounding network. Test both allowed and denied requests, including attempts to reach resources outside the user’s assigned scope.
3. Validate identity, device context and session behavior
Use your identity provider and representative managed and unmanaged devices. Check how the product handles device posture, risk and location conditions that matter to your organization, and whether a session can be re-evaluated when its context changes. Record what happens when a required signal is unavailable or a device no longer meets policy.
Rank #3
- 【Up to 1100 Mbps VPN Speed 】 Hardware-accelerated WireGuard and OpenVPN-DCO deliver up to 1100 Mbps VPN throughput, over 3× faster than Brume 2 for smooth remote access and file transfers.
- 【Three 2.5G Ports & Multi-WAN】Tri-port 2.5GbE design with flexible WAN LAN configuration supports multi-gigabit wired setups, dual-ISP Multi-WAN and failover to keep home and SOHO networks online.
- 【Stealth VPN Obfuscation】VPN obfuscation disguises VPN traffic as regular HTTPS, helping you evade blocking, bypass restrictive networks and maintain stable, private connections.
- 【DPI protection】Deep Packet Inspection with visual dashboards blocks adult/gambling/malicious sites, while SQM and QoS prioritize gaming, calls, and video when bandwidth is tight
- 【OpenWrt & USB 3.0 Expansion】OpenWrt with 1GB DDR4 and 8GB eMMC lets you install plugins and build VPN, ad-blocking or NAS, while USB 3.0 Type‑C connects high-speed storage or 4G/5G dongles
4. Include contractors, suppliers and BYOD
Test the real workflows for third parties and personal devices, including browser access if needed. Confirm which controls apply without a managed endpoint, how credentials are provisioned and removed, and what happens to data accessed in an unmanaged session.
5. Review architecture, exposure and resilience
Map where connectors and gateways must be deployed, what inbound exposure is required, how application traffic is routed and where segmentation is enforced. Ask the vendor to explain resilience and failure behavior, then verify it in a design review or pilot. Microsoft recommends avoiding public exposure of private applications; compare proposed designs against that goal.
6. Evaluate administration and user experience
Have the people who will run the service perform routine policy changes, investigate a denied connection and trace an access problem using available logs. Measure user experience across representative locations and under normal and degraded network conditions. Confirm endpoint support and how the product fits incident-response workflows.
7. Compare the whole platform and its cost
Decide whether your requirement is a focused ZTNA capability or part of a broader SSE/SASE deployment. Compare the total proposed scope—including required licenses, add-ons, support, services and VPN or other security infrastructure that will remain—rather than comparing headline product names alone.
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- Multi-WAN load balancing
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What should a ZTNA pilot test?
A useful proof of concept is based on your environment, not a vendor’s demonstration network. Use your application inventory, identity provider, endpoint types, representative locations and real unmanaged-user scenarios. A pilot should establish whether required workflows work, whether prohibited access is denied, and whether administrators can understand and operate the result.
- Set test cases: For each user and device type, list the resources that should be allowed and denied, including at least one out-of-scope access attempt.
- Exercise the real access paths: Test representative applications, protocols, geographies and third-party workflows using the deployment components proposed for production.
- Change conditions: Check how policy behaves when identity, device posture or another relevant context signal changes during a session.
- Inspect operations: Verify logs, policy-change visibility, troubleshooting steps and incident workflows with the administrators who will own them.
- Assess experience and failure behavior: Observe access under normal and degraded network conditions and ask what users and operators see when a component or required signal is unavailable.
Score vendors against the same acceptance criteria. A successful demonstration alone does not establish that every feature is included in the quoted edition or that the design will meet production requirements.
How much should you budget?
The reviewed material does not establish comparable current prices or licensing models, so it cannot support a reliable market price or savings estimate. Request a quote scoped to your user count, application and location needs, add-ons, support and implementation. Include any VPN, SSE/SASE or related infrastructure that will remain in service so that proposals cover the same operating scope.
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What the available evidence does—and does not—establish
The NCSC definition and Microsoft’s guidance establish the architectural goal: control access to applications using identity and context rather than relying on network location, and apply segmentation and session evaluation. The June 2026 CIOPages guide supplies a representative vendor shortlist, not a market ranking. Product descriptions and Cisco’s feature comparison are vendor-authored claims, not independent comparative tests.
No named market statistic with a traceable original report, publisher and year is established in the reviewed sources. A VPN-related breach percentage shown on Zscaler’s product page is not accompanied in the retrieved material by an identifiable originating report and publication year, so it is not a sound basis for comparison. The reviewed sources also do not support a direct-fit physical product recommendation: ZTNA purchasing concerns software services, and generic security hardware would not answer the vendor-selection question.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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