Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA)

What do you like best about the product?

The GUI is quite good and easy to use. It also helps with endpoint security, and the browser sandbox is useful for data loss prevention. The manual and OEM support were good as well.

What do you dislike about the product?

Implementation has some hassle at the initial stage and requires a lot of troubleshooting. There’s also a fair amount of work needed on the server side, including opening multiple ports and whitelisting URLs.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

An end user was able to paste company data directly into the browser, and we didn’t have visibility into who did it. It would also help to have an option to disable clipboard access from the host to the browser.

What do you like best about the product?

What I like best about Zscaler Internet Access is its cloud-native security approach, which allows users to access the internet securely from anywhere without relying on traditional on-premise hardware. It provides strong protection against threats while maintaining good performance, and the centralized management makes it easy to enforce consistent security policies across all users and devices.

What do you dislike about the product?

What I dislike about Zscaler Internet Access is that initial setup and policy configuration can be complex, especially for new users. Troubleshooting can sometimes be challenging due to limited visibility into traffic flows, and occasional latency may be noticed when traffic is routed through the cloud. Additionally, licensing and pricing can be expensive for smaller organizations.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Zscaler Internet Access solves the problem of securing internet traffic for a distributed workforce without relying on traditional perimeter-based security. By moving security controls to the cloud, it protects users from web-based threats, malware, and data loss regardless of location. This benefits me by providing consistent security, reduced reliance on VPNs and on-premise hardware, improved visibility into internet usage, and simpler management of security policies across the organization.

Zscaler Internet Access  provides secure internet access for users without relying on a traditional on-premises firewall. It helps enforce security policy, protect users from malicious websites, control app access, and ensure visibility across all user internet traffic, regardless of location. Several components and features are available, including Zscaler Cloud and Zscaler Trust Exchange, which function as inline internet security enforcement points, along with user traffic forwarding mechanisms. These forwarding methods include Zscaler Client Connector  (GCC) for remote hybrid roaming users, GRE and IPsec for branch offices and data centers, PAC files for legacy proxy environments, and explicit proxy for controlled environments. Additional components include the policy engine, threat protection stacks, and logging analytics. The features and components also function as a Secure Web Gateway, cloud firewall, advanced threat protections, cloud sandbox, DNS security, data loss prevention, and browser isolation, which is a recently added feature.

A good example of how my team uses Zscaler Internet Access  is enabling secure remote access for users working from home. Instead of directing traffic through different data centers, Zscaler Internet Access allows us to apply the same security inspections and policy directly from the cloud, significantly improving both performance and security.

The best features Zscaler Internet Access offers are Secure Web Gateway, URL filtering, SSL inspections, and policy-based access control. I find myself relying on Secure Web Gateway, URL filtering, SSL inspection, and policy-based access control the most because these are the main and top-most features I use regularly. Zscaler Internet Access has all of these types of features for securing all internet access and web inspections, allowing me to control all traffic through these features.

Zscaler Internet Access features include a Secure Web Gateway for URL filtering, file type control, and inline SSL inspections. The second feature is a cloud firewall with Layer 3 to Layer 7 filtering control and stateful inspections. No hardware inspection or hardware firewall is required. I can also perform segmentations by users, location, and application. There is a cloud CASB  solution available as well. Additionally, there is an advanced threat protection feature with signature-based behavioral detections, inline IPS, and zero-day threat protections. The cloud sandboxing solution scans unknown files and provides machine learning-based verdicts to prevent zero-day malware delivery in my environment. There is also a DNS security feature that provides DNS tunneling detections, malicious domain controls, and faster threat containment at the DNS layer. The data protection feature includes inline DLP  and CASB-style cloud app control, data sovereignty enforcement, and browser isolation, which executes risky sites in isolated cloud browsers and prevents endpoint compromises.

Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted my organization by reducing the dependency on on-premises hardware and improving security posture, enabling faster user onboarding, and providing better performance for remote users. It has resulted in a drop in security incidents related to web threats and improved visibility into user activity. An area for improvement includes fine-grained troubleshooting tools, better policy simulations, and optimizations around initial configuration complexity.

The admin UI and documentation for Zscaler Internet Access could be more intuitive for new users, specifically during initial rollout and advanced policy design.

I have been using Zscaler Internet Access for three to four years in a production environment.

My advice for others looking into using Zscaler Internet Access is to switch from traditional firewall and proxy-based solutions to Zscaler Internet Access to better support cloud and remote work environments. I recommend evaluating other cloud security and Secure Web Gateway solutions, but Zscaler Internet Access stood out for its maturity, scalability, and global reach. Zscaler Internet Access is a strong, enterprise-ready cloud security solution that fits well with modern distributed IT environments and Zero Trust strategies, which will help much when evaluating all of these solutions. I give this product a rating of 9.

Hybrid Cloud

Amazon Web Services  (AWS )

What do you like best about the product?

I appreciate the URL Filtering Policies since they allow or block connections based on URL, domain, or IP, offering granular control over websites and reducing the risk of accessing blocked URLs. I also value the Cloud App Control Policies, which help us manage cloud apps like social media and webmail with detailed control, such as allowing view access while blocking upload or download, aiding in data leak prevention. The Firewall Management is another feature I like, as it lets us manage outbound connections at the port, protocol, and application levels without needing hardware appliances.

What do you dislike about the product?

Latency across different regions is the only drawback we have. Takes at least 1 to 2 months to implement if you are a global company.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I use Zscaler Internet Access for centralized web access management to ensure safe and compliant internet traffic. It protects against malicious websites and phishing. URL filtering, cloud app control, and firewall management enhance security and provide granular control, reducing risks and preventing data leaks.

What do you like best about the product?

it has a robust security, so it protects users and make the internet faster for them and everything is managed in the cloud and it prevents accidental data leaks so it provides strong data protection.

What do you dislike about the product?

Setting up policies and getting familiar with the configuration can be somewhat challenging initially. Occasionally, during peak times, it slows down the internet. I've also heard many people mention that it is a great product, though it tends to be a bit expensive.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

In traditional networks, all traffic is routed back through the data center firewall, which can create bottlenecks and slow down connections. This setup also led to some security concerns. However, with Zscaler, we experience faster access to cloud applications and the internet, while security is provided for everyone. As a result, we no longer have to worry about these issues.