It is best suited for larger companies with lots of remote workers that need complex access management. We've barely scratched the surface on what Appgate can do via its API.
Zscaler Private Access works really well in environments setup for FQDNs and where you know what users should/shouldn't be accessing on what ports. You can use Zscaler Private Access to figure out these kinds of features but that doesn't always mean you'll be correct. It also provides a consistent experience for users as they can access their materials anywhere. It also makes the user the last line of defense. If a user's account is compromised then the attacker has access to everything they already did. It doesn't work great in OT environments or Server based environments. Flows have to be initiated from the client and not the server for stuff to behave properly.
Connecting users remotely with a secure connection. I am a service desk agent who works with end users, and if there is an issue due to ZPA, it's most likely due to configuration. A really good service.
Logging, I believe, works well as I troubleshoot end users and can gather extra details for my network admin. IP.zscaler.com, and the debug logs are nice. Additionally, I like how it shows the App policy assigned to the user's machine ECT.
Live logging in the client. Currently you have to "download" the logs into a zip file and then open that zipfile to look at the logs. There's no logfile to tail or watch.
Load balancing between controllers could be better. Currently relies on round robin DNS and sometimes a browser will pick a different IP than previous and you'll get a big "LOST CONNECTION TO CONTROLLER" message.
Needs an interface for Support Desk/Help Desk to more easily understand that the problem is a lack of an FQDN or access is not allowed due to policy, not because of a technical shortcoming in ZPA.
Documentation of the BC solution is not well-detailed.
The environment feels more secure, and we are seeing that users are adapting to it fast. The fact that we have tools to assist the users with their day-to-day access helps, as we can hand it off to the helpdesk without any escalations to the Network team. It is a work in progress for our agency, but we are seeing the benefits from the solution.
The company has been supportive overall of our needs and desired features. I have not personally called the support services, but I've heard no direct complaints either.
The existing system was FortiGate. The management of the system was a hassle. Because IT personnel had to manually create VPN accounts, user passwords were known to who created them and the end user did not have a way to change them. This created a security issue in the event an IT engineer left the company.
ZPA is where the bulk of zero-trust access is found. While the functionality for ZIA is excellent, the policy we implement for internet access is more focused on threat prevention and not narrowly scoped access.
We used to get anywhere from 30 to 50 tickets surrounding our previous VPN solution every month. We now average 3-5 tickets regarding remote connectivity, and of those, only 1 or 2 are actual issues with ZPA.
Using ZPA Access Policies, we can now block endpoints that have outdated security software from ever connecting to our environment. This was simply not possible with our previous solution.
Some of our employee base skews older and had a harder time understanding the change from VPN to Zscaler.
There is significantly less downtime with ZPA when compared to other VPN solutions.
