Zscaler: Cybersecurity Portfolio Review

Zscaler is a provider of cloud security services using zero-trust technology.

Based in San Jose, California, Zscaler’s 3,000 employees provide services for clients in 185 countries globally.

In the first quarter of the 2022 fiscal year, Zscaler made over $230 million, an increase of 62% from the prior year. It has multi-dimensional go-to-market models that focus on end-to-end customer success and scaling enterprise sales.

See below to learn all about where Zscaler stands in the cybersecurity market:

Zscaler Cybersecurity Portfolio

Looking to build a cloud-enabled future with zero trust, Zscaler’s cybersecurity portfolio features a range of products and services:

Ransomware Protection

Ransomware Protection by Zscaler is a cloud-native solution that uses AI-driven sandboxing and SSL/TLS-encrypted traffic inspection to protect networks from ransomware.

• Data loss prevention
• Lateral movement prevention
• Compromise prevention
• Zero trust-based
• Compatible with hybrid environments

Data Loss Prevention

Zscaler’s Data Loss Prevention policies follow users on and off network, inspecting all incoming and outgoing traffic to protect against data loss.

• Full SSL inspection of network traffic
• Real-time investigation of data loss incidents
• Indexed document matching (IDM) for protecting sensitive files
• Fast deployment on original architecture

Data Loss Prevention illuminates your network’s blind spots and helps you achieve security and privacy compliance.

Zscaler Web Security

Zscaler Web Security is a part of the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform. It enables fast and secure web connections, allowing in-office and remote workers to safely use the internet as the corporate network.

• Cloud-based, always-on security
• Multiple traffic inspection technologies
• Deployment in minutes
• Fully integrated with easy API access

Cloud Access Security Broker

Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) by Zscaler uses proxies and APIs to secure cloud data in motion and at rest. It reduces the management burden by only requiring the configuration of a single automated policy for all cloud data channels.

• Consistent policy application across cloud apps
• Threat protection with cloud sandboxing
• Automatic remediation of zero-day malware
• Full visibility into SaaS and IaaS platforms

Cloud Firewall

Zscaler’s Cloud Firewall is a next-generation firewall (NGFW) that enables fast and secure off-network connection to the local internet, providing constant protection of user traffic.

• Reducing cost and increasing agility
• Optimized DNS, TCP, and peering with secure direct-to-cloud connections
• Protects devices on and off network
• Scalable proxy-based architecture

Zscaler Cloud Firewall is elastically scalable across all ports and protocols, ensuring comprehensive and consistent protection.

Cloud Browser Isolation

Zscaler Cloud Browser Isolation creates a gap that separates users from the web. It prevents data leakage and active threats by rendering online content as a stream of images without software agents at endpoints.

• Natively integrates with Zscaler’s Zero Trust Exchange platform
• Compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer
• Fast, direct-to-cloud proxy architecture
• Unified and simplified policy management

Cloud Sandbox

Zscaler Cloud Sandbox is an AI-driven malware prevention engine. Built on a proxy-based architecture, it’s able to detect, prevent, and quarantine unknown malware and attacks, even ones disguised in TLS/SSL traffic.

• Able to detect malware and attacks in encrypted traffic
• Uses advanced AI/ML for automatic quarantine triggering
• Around the clock, continuous threat detection
• Deployment in seconds with no software or hardware to manage

As an integrated service, Zscaler Cloud Sandbox is regularly updated from over 135 billion requests daily in real-time.

Guest Wi-Fi Security

Guest Wi-Fi Security is a cloud-based offering by Zscaler that protects guest Wi-Fi users by securing the network connection, maintaining compliance with laws and regulations. 

• Deployment in seconds with no hardware or software
• Full visibility into guest Wi-Fi traffic
• Easy to set policies and reporting
• Built-in SSL inspection, Safe Search, and advanced threat protection features

Log4j Vulnerability Resource Center

Zscaler offers a long-term mitigation security strategy to manage the impact of the Log4Shell zero-day vulnerability with a zero-trust architecture. 

• Hides sensitive apps from attackers
• SSL traffic inspection to detect and intercept attacks
• Prevents lateral movement post successful attacks
• In-line DLP to stop data exfiltration attempts

Zscaler Partners

The Zscaler Summit Partner Program is designed to help customers achieve digital transformation through collaboration and promotion of the Zscaler platform.

The partnership program is centered around co-sell activities, with the ability to increase each program’s tier through partner benefits as new requirements are met.

Some of Zscaler’s technology partners include:

• Microsoft
• AWS
• CrowdStrike
• VMware
• Aruba Networks
• Splunk Technology

Zscaler Use Case

Watercare Services is a public utility company that converts over 100 gallons of freshwater into drinking-safe water daily for just under two million residents in the greater Auckland, New Zealand region. It also treats wastewater, before returning it to the coastal waterways.

During the consecutive lockdowns due to the pandemic, Watercare found that one of its legacy security solutions had failed completely. Additionally, its current troubleshooting tools were insufficient for handling remote workers. 

Instead of building its own secure cloud gateway, Watercare decided to standardize on the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform. This included access to the granular user experience monitoring and analytics solutions, Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX).

“Users love the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform, because they don’t even know it’s there. And there’s no administrative overhead. It just works,” says Adam Gower, head of digital operations at Watercare Services.

“Zscaler really is easy to deploy. It’s notable when a solution actually fulfills the claims a vendor makes. … With ZDX, it takes us only second to track down Teams issues, which frequently are related to a user’s ISP.”

Working with Zscaler, Watercare was able to provide access to private apps for its 800 users in less than half a day. It was also able to reduce the issue resolution timelines from weeks to minutes with AI-powered analytics. 

User Reviews of Zscaler

Launched in 2007, Zscaler maintains a good reputation for its cloud and security products by offering well-reviewed solutions.

While the score may vary for different products, Zscaler has overwhelmingly positive reviews across multiple third-party review sites.

Capterra: 4.1 out of 5

TrustRadius: 8.5 out of 10

Gartner Peer Insights: 4.6 out of 5

G2: 4.7 out of 5

Industry Recognition of Zscaler

Over the past few years, Zscaler has received multiple awards and titles in the industry.

In 2021, Zscaler received the Federal 100 Award for its contribution to the federal IT industry.

The same year, Microsoft announced Zscaler as The 2021 Zero Trust Champion at The 20/20 Partner Awards.

Zscaler in the Cybersecurity Market

Zscaler has nearly 4,500 clients, ranking 13th in the global IT security market with a 3.67% market share.

Some of its competitors are top rankers, with Okta at 8.30%, Cerberus Cyber Sentinel at 7.93%, and SentinelOne with a 7.70% market share.