Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform Reviews

Most people use Zscaler SASE as a replacement for VPNs. You know, with a VPN, once you establish connectivity to the network, you have unrestricted access. But with Zscaler SASE, you have strict access control. You don't get any access unless you adhere to the policies set in Zscaler. 

So, you can control who has access to specific applications at a URL level rather than granting access at the physical IP level. That's what most people appreciate about it. IPs provide access to everything on the machine, whereas Zscaler SASE provides access to specific services within the network. 

The most valuable feature is its ability to establish connectivity for remote users and remote endpoints. It offers a high level of granularity compared to typical VPNs, which also encapsulate a lot of I/O. By using Zscaler SASE for home access or access in remote areas, it bypasses the issues introduced by ISPs. 

Sometimes ISPs block certain protocols or applications, but when everything is encapsulated within the Zscaler Cloud, the ISPs don't get a chance to interfere or block. This is especially helpful when it comes to file sharing. Sometimes ISPs block it, so we can't share files using cloud services remotely. Zscaler SASE gives non on-premise users the ability to securely access and sync with on-premise resources.

The area that requires improvement is their support. The current support is lacking. 

Other than that, once you have the right people on the phone, the product performs as advertised. However, multiple clients have complained about the support. 

I have been working with Zscaler SASE for two years. 

When it comes to stability, it's similar to any outsourced service. There will always be some outages because of the global nature of the network and the involvement of various cloud providers. There are many moving parts. I don't anticipate more frequent outages, but it's important to acknowledge that Zscaler is not flawless.

I haven't encountered any clients who have had problems with scalability or performance issues. There were a couple of outages less than six months ago, but that's to be expected. Every service experiences occasional outages. It's like having allergies; every product at a global scale will have such issues. 

I have heard a lot of complaints from my clients about the support. Even VMware's support has declined since it got acquired by Broadcom. 

So, we're not receiving the kind of support we used to get, like from Cisco. It's more akin to Microsoft and internal support.

Neutral

The initial setup does take some time to get used to. Zscaler does a good job with its specialized services in setting up and installing the product. 

Once you start using the product, any issues that arise are generally handled well. The support is not as terrible as it may seem at first. While there may be instances where one technician transfers the case to another technician, it doesn't mean starting the entire process from scratch.

However, most people are deploying it on AWS or Azure. I have some clients who still prefer on-premises deployment. It depends on their specific requirements.

The pricing is quite high, especially when it comes to the gateway. It costs around $10,000 per gateway per data center, which can be seen as ridiculous. Other cloud-based solutions charge based on the number of clients without the need for a gateway for each data center. 

This pricing approach doesn't sit well with my clients anymore. When Zscaler SASE had a monopoly in the market, it could get away with it, but now there are alternatives cutting into its market share.

I would rate Zscaler's pricing model as an eight out of ten, with one being cheap and ten being expensive. 

There are other solutions like VMware that also have high costs, but Zscaler SASE stands out because of the expensive gateway for each data center. It's not a cheap implementation. 

Every time you set up an Azure data center, you have to spend another $10,000 to $15,000 on a gateway. It adds up quickly. Creating a VPN between data centers might be an alternative, but it introduces a single point of failure. So, that pricing policy alone makes it very expensive.

It's a great product. My advice for those considering using it is to understand the concept of zero access. It's different from just having VPN access. If someone can perform a DNS lookup, they still have access. 

People are often stuck in a VPN-centric mindset. It requires a paradigm shift, similar to transitioning from traditional applications to Microsoft applications. Instead of focusing on what services the user needs, it's about restricting access to specific applications regardless of the user. Once you embrace this mindset, it becomes easier to navigate. It's not a major impact, but it does require a change in thinking.

Overall, I would rate this product an eight out of ten, with the exception of pricing and support issues. It is one of the better implementations available, surpassing Cloudflare's capabilities. However, there are still areas for improvement, particularly in terms of pricing and support.

Hybrid Cloud

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

We can use Zscaler Private Access as a recipient for external communication. Zscaler Private Access can help users sitting in our organization domain and trying to access their own internal company sources. The traffic is forwarded to us through the Zscaler Private Access node, which we can have in our own infrastructure, or it can be hosted on the Zscaler private cloud.

We are using Zscaler Private Access to build our own Zscaler private node. Although this node is maintained and managed by Zscaler, it resides in our own data center or domain. So the traffic forwarded from the user system towards any internal resource will go through this private node.

Zscaler Private Access is a platform that eliminates the complexity of VPN configuration. Zscaler Private Access is easy to configure and manage and takes less time to configure. We can manage our own application or secure our application and our own internal traffic. We can create a security node in our own infrastructure.

We are getting some issues with internet access. Authenticating or onboarding something on Zscaler Private Access manually is a troublesome task. Users report application access or latency issues with Zscaler Private Access.

I have been using Zscaler Private Access for the last two and a half years.

I rate Zscaler Private Access eight and a half out of ten for stability.

I rate Zscaler Private Access an eight out of ten for scalability.

Zscaler Private Access' initial setup is not as easy as ZIA, but it's okay compared to other platforms.

Zscaler Private Access will ease your task, equal to a VPN. Lots of companies are using their own VPN access.

Overall, I rate Zscaler Private Access an eight out of ten.

We use the solution to build zero-trust networks. We use it to block everything except the trusted URLs. We get a bunch of URLs from the customers, whitelist them in the solution, and everything else is blocked automatically.

An URL must be whitelisted for users to access it. When a customer tells us they need a particular URL, we analyze it and send it for approval. Once it is approved, we whitelist the URL for the user. The solution is useful for zero-trust and DLP.

The UI is easy to use. All the options are accessible.

The product has limited features. We only have the option to monitor URLs and HTTPS logs. The tool must provide IP-blocking features.

I have been using the solution for more than three years.

The tool is stable. For the past three years, I haven't seen it break down. I rate the stability a ten out of ten.

I rate the tool’s scalability a seven out of ten. When we search for logs, it doesn’t take much time. It’s quite fast, even if we have a lot of logs. We use more than 1000 URLs in a day. Getting the logs in real-time is quite important. Four of our customers are using the solution. We have 30,000 to 40,000 users.

I have used Symantec DLP.

The engineering team sets up the tool. We use the tool to analyze user behavior during incidents. We can see whether URLs accessed by the users were approved by the organization.

The product is a bit expensive.

We take support from Zscaler and provide the service to our clients. We are partners. People who want to use the product must explore the options. We can do multiple things for a single URL. We can restrict URLs to only access the GET request or POST request. We can do HTTP control and SSL inspection. We can also access the threat intel. We can look up a URL and get the details in real-time. Overall, I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

I use Zscaler CASB to get the visibility of the cloud application since everything is moving to the cloud these days. We use the solution to get complete visibility of what is happening on my drive and official applications. The solution also helps to restrict information shared with my other partners.

Zscaler CASB's latency and architecture are excellent.

Zscaler CASB needs to improve its applications or connectors. The solution's granularity should be improved because it has limited granular options to control, visible, allow, block, delay, and receive.

I have been using Zscaler CASB for one year.

Zscaler CASB is a stable solution.

Zscaler CASB is a scalable solution because it is a cloud-based solution. Around 30% of the industry people are using Zscaler CASB.

Zscaler CASB's technical support is good. The solution's support team is available, but they don't have much visibility of what is happening and take too much time to resolve it.

Positive

Zscaler CASB's initial setup is easy.

As per industry leads, Zscaler CASB is an expensive solution.

Zscaler CASB is deployed on-cloud in our organization.

I would recommend Zscaler CASB to other users. Zscaler CASB has a seamless deployment. The solution needs to improve on the navigation or user experience part.

Overall, I rate Zscaler CASB an eight out of ten.

In Qatar industries, the legacy systems like the Bluecoat Proxy is still being used, these solutions work at a limited capacity. For instance, one of our organization's customers is in the Oil & Gas transportation business with tankers, if a company like them wants to deploy a proxy solution, physical proxy deploy is very complicated for such companies, therefore our organization proposes a cloud proxy solution to them like Zscaler DLP. 

There are several cloud proxy solutions in the market, but Zscaler DLP provides the lowest latency rates due to the presence of global enforcement nodes in the solution. Whenever a potential customer approaches our company, which has a large workforce, has offices distributed across a wide geography and is in need of a cloud-based solution, we suggest Zscaler DLP for comprehensive global control. 

The in-line DLP feature is one of the most vital features of the solution. Data security is a global concern, like in Europe there is the EDPR, while Qatar has its own data protection laws, so at our organization while data gets classified using different tools like Boldon James, security control in transit remains a concern so the in-line DLP policy is a valuable feature in Zscaler DLP that remains absent in most other products. Zscaler DLP takes care of the security when data is in motion. 

The technical team in our company suggests there are some performance issues with the solution once the module addition begins. For instance, suppose I am using Zscaler Internet Access, and the connectivity speed is excellent, but the moment I start integrating some add-ons like DLP, then the solution considerably slows down in functionality.

But I believe the aforementioned instance or scenario is acceptable because an initial data check gets performed upon integration and it probably can be solved by the vendor through some alterations in the architecture. The set of features provided by Zscaler DLP is enough for the market in which our company operates. 

I have been using Zscaler DLP for two and a half years. 

I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. It's a highly stable solution. The product consistently functions all the time, but it slows down a couple of times when a large-scale data transfer is being processed that involves multiple policy checks. 

Zscaler DLP almost never crashes, and when it does rarely, it's very specific to the customer environment. When some changes are made to the deployed product upon the customer's suggestion, initially, some instability arrives, which is then fixed through fine-tuning. 

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. The Zscaler DLP is extremely scalable and we have experienced it hands-on in our organization. One of the customers of our company was beginning operations in the Philippines, and they were already using Zscaler DLP in other locations like Kuwait and Jordan; they asked us to increase the license numbers and deploy the same Zscaler DLP solution for their Philippines location as well, the entire process was smoothly completed by our team.

I believe the downscaling of the solution is as easy as upscaling. Around 80 to 90 customers of our organization are using Zscaler DLP. The customer portfolio of our company for Zscaler DLP comprises 20% government enterprises, 60% are medium-scale businesses, and the rest are small-scale businesses. 

The customer support team has been responsive enough to our organization's queries in Qatar. In our company, we had to reach out for customer support on very few occasions. I would rate the tech support an eight out of ten. 

Positive

I would rate the initial setup an eight out of ten. Our organization implements the setup operations and transitions of Zscaler DLP for each customer. Rarely the deployment team of our company has faced some challenges, but it has been due to the unique customer environments, server placements and connection requirements.

About 95% of the deployments have been carried out in our organization without any obstacles. Our organization always deploys Zscaler DLP on the cloud. 

It's an affordable solution. I would rate the pricing a six out of ten. Once after deployment, you start bundling up additional components, the cost significantly increases. When compared to the cost of a competitor solution and the quality of Zscaler DLP, the price of the solution is justified.

Some customers who are familiar with other product environments of Palo Alto or Cisco might find Zscaler DLP a bit expensive when looking at it from an environment compatibility or opportunity perspective. 

For companies that have operations across the globe, it's crucial for them to have the same set of data security controls and measures across all locations; Zscaler DLP helps in such implementations. For instance, if there are certain enforcement policies or data security norms implemented for the headquarters of an organization, Zscaler DLP allows a professional to just copy the implemented policies of one location to another, irrespective of the site members or users.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. I would advise others to perform due diligence before directly adopting the product, but just because the product is the market leader doesn't mean it will fit perfectly into every environment.

I always analyze the customer's requirements and existing environment before proposing the best solution. If integrating Zscaler DLP into a Palo Alto environment will create difficulties, then it's better to choose a solution from Palo Alto. 

It ensures a secure online environment for our users, irrespective of their location. By routing all internet traffic through the Zscaler Cloud, users can browse safely, shielded from malicious content. Whether connected from the office or home network, Zscaler enforces our defined policies consistently.

Our users experience a safe and secure internet connection, whether they are in the office or connecting via their home Wi-Fi network or a public network. The Zscaler policy governs their internet access consistently, eliminating the reliance on individual IPs.

We utilize a shared security VPN for users to establish a connection between their devices and the Zscaler Cloud, enabling them to access the office network. This secure connection allows users to connect to the Zscaler VPN and access the resources on the office network, making it a highly valuable component of our system.

Occasionally, issues arise in the LogStack by a third party, particularly for government websites accessed by numerous users. This can trigger false positives, causing certain IP ranges to be perceived as a security threat or associated with malicious activities, resulting in blocks. In such instances, we often find ourselves waiting for the block to be lifted or having to engage with the concerned website administrators. This is where Zscaler's expertise becomes crucial in addressing false positive blocks, as these incidents might not necessarily indicate malicious intent but could be errors affecting access to the platform. It is recommended that they incorporate EDR features into their offerings.

We have been working with it for more than a year.

It demonstrates overall stability and effectively upholds the smooth functioning of the entire infrastructure. We haven't encountered any issues with it. I would rate it nine out of ten.

In terms of scalability, our current setup is sufficient for our needs. We have a user base exceeding ten thousand. It's a ubiquitous tool for everyone in the business. Nearly all users utilize it for internet browsing every single day. I would rate it nine out of ten.

The technical support team effectively manages and provides robust support for the solution. I would rate it eight out of ten.

Positive

I used Websense before, but Zscaler maintains consistent policies whether users are in the office, at home, or in public places, offering a more convenient experience.

The initial setup process was time-consuming and encountered issues, particularly with logs. Although I wasn't present during the setup, it has been reported that significant time and numerous challenges were involved. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate it five.

The deployment itself didn't take much time, but the challenge arose in identifying and resolving issues faced by numerous users. It took considerable time to pinpoint these issues. Maintenance is handled with support directly from Zscaler, and our existing security admin team oversees the management of both Zscaler Cloud and their skills.

We have observed a return on investment in a stable setup, ensuring secure internet access for users and instilling trust in the solution.

I would recommend anyone contemplating this product to carefully consider it. They can evaluate and explore the solution by taking a demo to better understand the technology. Once satisfied with the demo, they can proceed with rolling out the solution. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

Public Cloud

Other

We use the solution to restrict uploading over public sites. We control the users’ actions through DLP. Only users who have access can upload files. We manage multiple policies.

The policies are very easy to implement. It's very easy to understand. We have the option to assign time limits to the access we provide. For example, we can implement a policy for one year for a particular user. Once it expires, we can disable it.

We have some limitations while checking logs. The product must allow users to check logs for an entire year in the local console. Currently, we can check logs only for the previous three to four months.

Forcepoint provides multiple services separately, but Zscaler does not provide separate DLP. It will be good if Zscaler provides the DLP module separately.

I have been using the solution for the last two years.

I rate the tool’s stability a ten out of ten.

The tool is very scalable. I rate the scalability a ten out of ten. Approximately 5,200 people are using the solution in our organization.

We are also using Forcepoint.

The initial setup is very easy.

The product is a little more expensive than other tools.

We do not face any challenges with the product. If we have any problems, the vendor helps us. The product is everywhere. Everyone is using it. It's very, very flexible. It provides a single solution for multiple modules like DLP, proxy, and firewall. Overall, I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

We are currently using Zscaler Cloud DLP internally and it provides us with a robust and highly configurable Data Loss prevention engine, which meets our specific data handling needs.

We experienced many benefits, including improved visibility and the ability to identify vulnerabilities in existing configurations. Its impressive scalability allows the combination of multiple dictionaries and using them as one engine, resulting in narrower data loss gaps. There are significant enhancements in email and file confidentiality, particularly with integration to MCAS solution, which provides insights into permissions and access control for files stored in OneDrive and SharePoint.

The most valuable features are its robustness and high configurability, particularly in relation to existing DLP dictionaries. The ability to choose and utilize specific dictionaries for various purposes, such as credit card checks or monitoring file permissions and transmissions within the corporate network. The platform allows the administrator to monitor who is sharing files and who has access to them, providing a proactive approach to data security.

The customers would benefit from more robust documentation and conversations around configurations, as it is slightly complex. Also, there should be an option for acquiring DLP as a standalone product rather than bundling it with packages, as this would provide more flexibility for customers who only need specific features. They should also provide more reviews and guidance on selecting the best-rated engines and dictionaries, as well as facilitating reporting for DLP violations and integrations with other cloud storage solutions. 

We have been using it for a year now.

Zscaler sells internet access, not specifically DLP, so we had to build a point of presence for our location in Kenya due to latency issues.

It offers high scalability capabilities.

We faced some issues regarding the business support from them due to the lack of knowledge and understanding of troubleshooting processes, which may be time-consuming. However, after we submitted the tickets, they did provide their support and eventually, solved our issues.

Neutral

We tried a few different solutions, but we opted for Zscaler because we were already using other products from them.

The implementation process was straightforward, with good support and training provided by Zscaler. We found it easy to roll out the cloud connectors and configure policies for DLP. The whole process took about three weeks with the help of three individuals, including myself.

Zscaler DLP solution is expensive, with a fixed pricing structure that is billed annually and monthly. There are no additional costs for licenses.

I would recommend having a clearly defined objective and goal, which would facilitate choosing and implementing the solution effectively. I would rate it nine out of ten.

Hybrid Cloud