By Microsoft Security & Zscaler
Competitive businesses are aggressively accelerating their cloud transformation through the use of SaaS apps. These apps can help an organization to optimize investments, acquire and retain talent, and maintain continuity – even during turbulent events. To realize the full benefits of cloud investments, workplaces must be modernized to satisfy the demands of today’s “anywhere, any time, any device” workforces.
Unfortunately, the unfettered access modern workforces require comes with the added risk of a dramatically expanded attack surface. IT staff must protect users, devices, and apps from ransomware attacks, data leaks, and other threats that can hinder a truly modern workplace. The best line of defense is a reliable Zero Trust security framework, natively built on a highly distributed, global architecture.
Connect safely, anytime, anywhere, and from any device
The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange is the world’s largest inline security cloud with over 150 points of presence (PoPs) around the world, peering with Microsoft globally. It acts as an intelligent switchboard to broker connections between users, devices, and applications wherever they reside. The distributed architecture ensures that any communication can be sent directly to the Microsoft Network efficiently and securely, bringing security closer to the user for fast access and a positive digital experience. Zscaler’s modern architecture eliminates the cost, complexity and performance challenges associated with traditional networks and legacy VPN and firewall security products.
Zscaler’s Zero Trust Exchange securely connects Microsoft customers directly to the cloud-based resources they need, including SaaS apps like Microsoft 365, private apps, and the Internet, while providing a positive user experience. By replacing legacy security products and traditional networks with direct user-to-app and app-to-app connections, Zscaler keeps your enterprise resources off the network and invisible to threats. The platform is comprised of three core services that enable Microsoft customers to safely empower their workforces:
- Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) makes problematic VPNs obsolete by connecting users directly to private applications, minimizing the attack surface via a zero-trust network access (ZTNA) cloud architecture.
- Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) connects end users directly to the Internet and SaaS apps like Microsoft 365, reducing the cost and complexity of traditional VPN and firewall products.
- Zscaler Digital Experience Monitoring (ZDX) is a multi-tenant cloud-based monitoring platform that probes, benchmarks, and measures digital experiences for every single user within an organization.
Flexibility and safety for the modern workplace
The modern workplace is just as complex as the modern workforce. Apps can be on premises, available as SaaS instances in the cloud, as private apps in public or private clouds, or any combination thereof. Zscaler and Microsoft solutions are tightly integrated to provide modern, cloud-native zero trust security, while increasing user productivity and accessibility. Zscaler’s integration with Microsoft includes Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Intune, Azure Sentinel, Microsoft Information Protection, and more. A few examples:
- Integration with Azure Active Directory enables organizations to confidently authenticate each user. This integration helps organizations authorize connections to specific enterprise resources across all productivity apps.
- Paired with Zscaler’s Cloud DLP service, Azure Information Protection lets you set automated labels which can block highly sensitive files and prevent data exfiltration. This helps ensure compliance across all employees, independently of the device they use.
- Zscaler’s solution is Microsoft 365 Networking Partner Program compliant, delivering high performance while simplifying the challenges of legacy on-prem architectures. Users enjoy minimal latency and faster file throughput for increased productivity and a positive experience.
- Zscaler's Zero Trust Exchange in tandem with Microsoft Defender (for cloud) and Microsoft Sentinel enable customers to securely implement hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Zscaler's powerful cloud-native solutions combined with Azure AD deliver ZTNA protected access across any environment. And the broader zero trust environment is enhanced by the ability to ingest logs into Microsoft Sentinel for improved global analytics. As a result, applications benefit from a flexible connectivity framework that enables employees to work from anywhere using any device, while workloads can securely communicate with each other across clouds and on-premises.
Simplify the journey to Zero Trust
As companies seek new ways to accelerate their digital transformation, enable remote BYOD work, and shift company infrastructure and processes to the cloud, the need for comprehensive Zero Trust security increases. The integration of Zscaler and Microsoft solutions enables organizations to simplify their journey to a seamlessly secure work-from-anywhere environment.
Zscaler’s Zero Trust platform enables fast, secure access to business applications, private applications, internet, and SaaS, protecting business assets and data without compromising speed or reliability. With Zscaler and Microsoft technologies working in tandem, you can confidently embrace cloud-first services and hybrid workforces while protecting enterprise assets, enabling business agility, and maximizing the value of your company’s cloud investments.
Zscaler’s solutions for Zero Trust security are available at the Azure Marketplace.