ZTNA 2.0 positive factors multicloud momentum in Palo Alto Networks’ buyer base

Citing the safety, scale and pace benefits of deploying zero-trust community entry 2.0 (ZTNA) in multicloud environments, Palo Alto Networks’ Ignite ’22 keynotes and breakouts declare the brand new customary is gaining momentum.

“All of the intelligence that goes behind zero trust is actually in the cloud, which means that once you operationalize us (Palo Alto Networks) in one place or one form factor, the next one is really easy,” Lee Klarich, chief product officer for Palo Alto Networks, mentioned throughout his keynote “Out-Innovating the Attackers” at Ignite ’22 final week.

ZTNA 2.0 is a brand new trade customary proposed by Palo Alto Networks earlier this 12 months, primarily based on their perception that the prevailing zero-trust standard is just too trusting, permitting for implicit belief gaps to occur on persistent connections.

Security leaders who’re advocates of ZTNA 2.0 say there must be extra stringent enforcement of least-privileged access from the third to the seventh layer of the OSI Model. Advocates level to the shortage of real-time belief verification throughout the higher layers of the mannequin.

With greater than 61,000 energetic firewall prospects in keeping with their Q1, FY 2023 quarterly outcomes presentation, Palo Alto Networks is ideally positioned to advertise a brand new zero-trust customary that capitalizes on steady monitoring and their experience in analyzing real-time community site visitors.

Level-setting expectations on ZTNA 2.0

It’s necessary to maintain the broader strategic initiatives of a corporation in thoughts when assessing ZTNA, ZTNA 2.0, and nil belief generally. Zero-trust frameworks are handiest once they help, strengthen and shield new digital enterprise initiatives and safe digital organizations. Investing in cybersecurity and nil belief is a enterprise resolution integral to the longer term development of any group. Getting it proper means tailoring zero belief to a enterprise’s distinctive safety and danger administration wants. 

VentureBeat spoke with a number of IT leaders at Ignite ‘22 who said they have implemented Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma Cloud and are pursuing ZTNA 2.0 report progress. Most of them cope with multicloud and hybrid cloud infrastructure challenges that the mix of Prisma Cloud and ZTNA 2.0 assist remedy.

None, nevertheless, think about ZTNA 2.0 the one-and-done resolution to their zero-trust framework goals. Rather, they want Prisma Cloud and ZTNA 2.0 to resolve advanced multicloud and hybrid cloud safety challenges that demand scale and pace. 

SASE, multicloud deployments assist ZTNA 2.0 adoption

Palo Alto Networks contends that ZTNA 2.0 additionally permits customers entry to community sources from wherever through secured entry service edge (SASE), simplifies the necessity for conventional community perimeter controls, and that cloud-based deployment helps pace up implementation instances. The firm additionally claims that ZTNA 2.0 is best fitted to integrating with identification entry administration (IAM), privileged entry administration (PAM), multifactor authentication (MFA), and different safety applied sciences all on a single platform.

That’s in keeping with one of many key messages to prospects at Ignite ’22: That Palo Alto Networks must be their vendor associate for consolidating their tech stacks.

Palo Alto Networks additionally contends that its cloud platform strategy to ZTNA 2.0 simplifies zero belief by offering constant least privileged entry and steady monitoring throughout each identification and endpoint, or as Klarich mentioned in his keynote, kind elements.

“So when you think about this approach, what it means is you get the same security outcomes,” mentioned Klarich. “You get consistent security operations and management. It’s optimizing the end-user experience because the users get the same experience, no matter where they’re working from, which, of course, is even more important today than ever before.”

Klarich additionally defined in his keynote how zero-trust cloud structure combines the corporate’s third and fourth technology {hardware} structure advances to supply efficiency positive factors frequently. Palo Alto Networks sees ZTNA 2.0 as greater than a framework; it’s their ecosystem for future development the place their {hardware}, software program and cloud advances mix to ship larger worth than every part offered alone.

Why ZTNA 2.0 is gaining multicloud momentum

The most typical motive that prospects say they undertake ZTNA 2.0 is to realize larger visibility and management throughout a number of hyperscalers and cloud platforms whereas making certain a constant safety coverage and safety posture. The Palo Alto prospects that VentureBeat interviewed at Ignite ’22 mentioned their organizations adopted zero belief to enhance compliance and danger administration, enhance course of agility, and consolidate their legacy tech stacks.

Interviews and surveys validate that getting integration proper with ZTNA 2.0 is difficult, as is the method of implementing it as a framework throughout large-scale, distributed organizations. CISOs that VentureBeat spoke with at Ignite ’22 say it may be difficult to construct a whole zero-trust framework with only one vendor, particularly concerning endpoint safety.

As David Holmes, Forrester senior analyst, writes in The Forrester New Wave: Zero Trust Network Access, Q3 2021, Palo Alto Networks “still needs to improve endpoint offering, including mobile. Customers say the mobile experience Prisma Access still needs improvement, and they report some technical challenges with the endpoint software for desktops and laptops.” 

Integration utilizing APIs is likely one of the most difficult points of implementing ZTNA 2.0 primarily based on buyer interviews at Ignite ’22. 

What prospects are saying about Prism Cloud and ZTNA 2.0

Overall, prospects that VentureBeat spoke with are optimistic about their experiences with Prisma Cloud and ZTNA 2.0. One IT director instructed VentureBeat that overcoming the challenges of integrating Prisma Cloud with different apps and instruments within the safety tech stack was probably the most difficult piece. However, SASE was additionally core to their ZTNA 2.0 technique, and the implementation of that throughout distant workplaces went easily.

Other IT leaders instructed VentureBeat that Prisma Cloud is automating the hundreds of thousands of safety updates per day in comparison with counting on patch prep and deployment automation. This alleviates the necessity to keep the infrastructure with time-consuming processes and guide procedures.

One CISO that VentureBeat spoke with says the subscription mannequin for Prisma Access might be difficult, and it’s finest to get assist for those who’re a first-time buyer making an attempt to determine it out. She additionally suggested that IT leaders watch out troubleshooting Prisma Access as a result of it’s straightforward to by chance create a service interruption. Also, the CISO mentioned, Okta integration might be difficult, and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) queries have been identified to lavatory down if API integrations aren’t optimized.

The backside line is that Palo Alto Networks is succeeding with its consolidation technique of promoting ZTNA 2.0 inside its buyer base, emphasizing the safety, scale and pace of Prisma Cloud because the deployment technique.

CISOs and IT administrators are after extra granular entry insurance policies that may be custom-made to suit the wants of particular customers, teams and units, giving them larger management over who can entry what sources. They’re additionally after simplified entry, improved usability, and more practical compliance reporting throughout their multicloud infrastructure.