The phone rings and someone says, “Hello, I’d like to purchase a ZTNA solution.” Has this ever happened to you? No, I don’t think so. Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is a solution that certain network security-savvy and buzzword-motivated clients may inquire for, but the vast majority of clients will not.
As a result, most of your clients would really benefit, especially those who are still using a legacy VPN for their hybrid and remote employees. Using data from our own research, we can say that hybrid work is here to stay. Even after Covid, 87% of businesses will continue to use a hybrid workplace, which necessitates the requirement for reliable, quick, and secure remote access.
To answer this question, why should you provide ZTNA to your customers? (Spoiler alert: it’s not all about them!).
Cybercriminals Have Easy Access to VPNs.
In the early ’90s, before the phrase “cloud computing” had ever been created, SaaS was just getting started, and most people traveled to the office every day, VPN technology was first launched. Workers in today’s businesses can access resources in a hybrid network that includes on-premises data centers as well as public and private clouds as well as the Internet, whether they are working from their homes, a public venue, or a satellite office.
Securing and providing remote access in this contemporary network with outdated technologies is asking for disaster. The Colonial Pipeline is a good example of how cybercriminals have been able to take advantage of the various flaws in outdated VPNs. VPNs can’t partition the network, which is a major drawback. A bad actor who manages to infiltrate a VPN is now in control of the entire network.
Monitoring and managing a network may be challenging.
The absence of sight and control at the network edge exacerbates the problem of a VPN’s inherent security weaknesses. There has been a huge rise in the attack surface of business networks as a result of today’s dispersed networks and hybrid workforce.
To promptly detect and remove possible dangers, it is critical to monitor and manage user access. Continuous user authentication and activity monitoring are made possible by a high-performance ZTNA system. Monitoring and management responsibilities fall on the shoulders of MSPs, and they may be taxing and time-consuming. Using the correct ZTNA solution may make the process simple and straightforward.
There are three reasons why VPN hardware isn’t up to par with today’s hybrid networks:
During the Covid-19 outbreak, Forrester found that consumers choose ZTNA for secure remote access because of VPN performance concerns. During the pandemic lockdowns, several MSPs realised that VPNs couldn’t guarantee high-speed access to cloud resources since their clients had migrated to practically 100% remote work.
To use cloud-based apps like Zoom or Office 365, distant users must first authenticate by connecting to on-premise data centres (where no workers were present). High-performance and scalable ZTNA solutions are available, and the finest ones will offer dedicated, high-speed, and encrypted tunnels to the cloud.
Why put your customers on a sluggish local train when you can get them on an express?
VPNs are not easy to scale.
It’s impossible to keep up with the shifting demands of your clients’ networking requirements. There is a constant turnover of employees and contractors. There are mergers and acquisitions, as well as divestitures. It’s not uncommon for new hardware and software to be sent out on a frequent basis. Changes to a VPN can result in time-consuming and demanding administrative duties, from re-configuring existing equipment to installing new and costly gear.
If the user is a third-party contractor and you need to secure your customers’ resources from what is effectively a less-trusted user who is within the network, adding people to a VPN might be extremely burdensome. It’s been a nightmare!
What we need is a service that provides zero trust. You can do activities that would take days or even weeks with a VPN in minutes using a single administration portal for all of your clients. Create networks and increase bandwidth capacity with a few mouse clicks because there is no need to purchase and maintain any gear.
Users may be added or removed in a matter of seconds, and third-party contractors can be allowed access to only the apps they need to accomplish their work.
Implementing ZTNA opens the door to a whole new stream of recurring income.
ZTNA’s implementation for your clients creates a new, high-margin recurring income stream for your company. Additionally, you’ll improve your bottom line as a result of making your clients’ networks more safe and efficient. In addition, you’ll be able to build on your ZTNA solution with important installation, administration, and support services.
A simple and user-friendly multi-tenant interface may be used to administer and provide services to all of the tenants. It’s never been easier or more profitable to set up and manage your clients’ remote access.
ZTNA: Zero Trust in Anyone; Always Double-Check Everything
Today’s best practises with ZTNA ensure that “least privilege” access to vital company resources is provided. This means that only people who need to use certain resources or programmes should be allowed to do so. The Zero Trust solution is based on this idea and should be implemented at all of your clients, no matter how big or little.
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is predicted by Gartner to replace 60 percent of businesses’ current Business VPNs by 2023. In other words, even if you aren’t getting any calls today asking for ZTNA, you should still recommend it to your patients. Don’t wait for someone else to do it.
