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.

I use Zscaler Cloud DLP since my company's clients use Zscaler Cloud Proxy in their environments. I deal with Zscaler Cloud DLP since it meets the requirements of my company's clients and helps to manage data breaches. In general, my company takes care of the configuration part of Zscaler Cloud DLP and provides it to our company's clients as a service.

With Zscaler Cloud DLP, my company benefits from the granular control it provides us. My company provides Zscaler Cloud DLP to our clients as per their requirements, and moreover, we can filter out and deny or allow providing the features related to DLP for a specific user or a location. Basically, Zscaler Cloud DLP provides general control to a person over which files a person wants to allow or deny for a specific user or location. Zscaler Cloud DLP is very easy to configure. With just a few clicks, one can easily take care of the configuration part related to the product.

As of now, no improvements are required in the solution. Though not an improvement from a product perspective, there is no documentation related to Zscaler Cloud DLP on the internet. You won't find anything that can help you with the configuration part and other areas related to the product if you search for proper or exact details of Zscaler Cloud DLP online in very easy language. In short, you can't find any documentation about the product which is exactly arranged in a proper manner. Availability of knowledge related to the product is not there in the public domain.

I have been using Zscaler Cloud DLP for more than three years. My company has a partnership with Zscaler, so we provide solutions from Zscaler to our clients.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten. I did not have any issues related to the product. For some of the tag-related cases opened with the support team, no proper support was available.

It is a very scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

I work in a large organization, so I think more than 1,000 users use Zscaler Cloud DLP.

The solution's technical support is easy for my company to reach out to, and they are also very supportive. I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.

Positive

I have experience with Palo Alto Networks Firewall.

The product's initial setup is easy.

The solution can be deployed in ten to twenty minutes.

The solution is deployed on a private cloud.

Zscaler Cloud DLP offers cutting-edge technology and is easy to configure and use. People should opt for Zscaler Cloud DLP if they have the opportunity.

Considering that there is always some room for improvement, I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.

Private Cloud

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.

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