Netskope also surpasses other solutions by offering businesses a clear and scalable framework to discontinue or reduce their reliance on outdated products, such as VPNs, NACs, and virtual desktop environments (VDI), which no longer meet the demands of the modern hybrid enterprise.
Among the UZTA features and benefits that Netskope has incorporated are the following:
● Integrated and contextualized device intelligence: Extends UZTA coverage to IoT/OT devices (such as machines and robots that cannot run agent software) via the Netskope One Gateway 5G gateway, enabling automatic device risk discovery and classification, as well as the application of a zero-trust policy. Device intelligence also extends east-west access control and management through integrations with leading third-party NAC providers, while the firewall capabilities of Netskope One Gateway and Netskope One SSE also provide granular and flexible zero-trust application points to ensure consistent protection across north-south traffic.
● Integrated data and threat protection in UZTNA: Inspects private application traffic, both remote and local, with advanced threat protection and data loss prevention (DLP) engines shared by all Netskope security services, with a common management console and policies. This unified approach addresses threats before they reach the network and protects sensitive data, providing consistent protection for all users and devices.
● AI-driven policy optimization through Copilot, recently introduced: Streamlines ZTNA management by automating granular policy configuration for detected applications and continuously improving and auditing configurations. This enables organizations to accelerate ZTNA adoption, reduce complexity, and scale zero trust with less risk.
● UZTNA in the branch office: Enables businesses to effectively extend access to private applications across branch networks, as the Netskope ZTNA editor is hosted directly on the Netskope One Gateway 5G gateway. This allows businesses to ensure consistent, least-privilege application access across IT, IoT, and OT environments.
“Legacy VPNs, NAC, and early ZTNA tools weren’t designed for the scale, speed, or diversity of today’s businesses,” says John Martin, product manager at Netskope. “With Universal ZTNA, Netskope is redefining secure access by giving organizations a unified, consistent way to protect users and devices, whether they’re on or off the network. Through smarter, risk-based policies, built-in protection, and uninterrupted performance, we’re helping businesses reduce complexity and potential threats, and make secure access an enabler, not a hindrance.”.
