Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) replaces traditional VPN with identity-verified, least-privilege access to specific applications — eliminating the broad network access that VPN grants and ensuring every connection is authenticated, authorized, and inspected regardless of location.
VPN was designed for occasional remote access, not for a workforce that is always remote. ZTNA provides the access model that matches how people actually work today — but implementation requires careful identity integration, application inventory, and a phased migration that doesn't disrupt productivity.
A structured advisory process — from discovery and market evaluation to vendor selection and post-deployment optimization — tailored to your specific environment and objectives.
We document your existing VPN infrastructure — user populations, application access requirements, network segmentation, and the security gaps that ZTNA is intended to address.
We evaluate ZTNA platforms — Zscaler Private Access, Palo Alto Prisma Access ZTNA, Cloudflare Access, CrowdStrike Falcon Identity, and others — against your application portfolio, identity provider integration, and deployment model requirements.
ZTNA requires comprehensive knowledge of every private application users access. We conduct application discovery and map access requirements — identifying which applications are ZTNA candidates and which require alternative access approaches.
ZTNA migration typically spans 6-18 months. We design the phased approach — starting with high-risk user populations or most-targeted applications — that provides early security improvement while managing migration complexity.
These are the dimensions that consistently separate successful network deployments from costly ones — and the questions RLM will help you answer before any commitment.
ZTNA policies are driven by identity. Evaluate the depth of integration with your IdP — user groups, device posture, location context, and the conditional access policies that govern application access.
ZTNA can enforce device health requirements before granting access. Evaluate posture check capabilities — patch level, AV status, disk encryption, certificate presence — and the enforcement mechanism for non-compliant devices.
Not all applications support modern authentication or work with ZTNA connector architectures. Evaluate the compatibility of your specific applications — particularly legacy web apps and client/server applications — before committing to a platform.
ZTNA requires connectors deployed in environments hosting private applications. Evaluate the connector deployment model, required network connectivity, and the operational overhead of managing connectors across your infrastructure.
ZTNA must be as transparent as VPN to be adopted. Evaluate the end-user experience — application launch workflows, reconnection behavior, and the impact on users who work across multiple applications simultaneously.
Many enterprises have a mix of cloud-hosted and on-premises applications. Evaluate how the ZTNA platform handles both environments — particularly the routing and inspection architecture for hybrid application footprints.
"RLM gave us an objective view of our network options that no single vendor could. We replaced aging MPLS across 40 locations and came in 28% under our original budget."
"The RLM team understood our network complexity from day one. Their vendor-neutral approach helped us find the right solution — not just the one with the biggest marketing budget."
Start with a no-cost conversation with an RLM network advisor — vendor neutral, no agenda, just clarity on the right path forward for your environment.
Speak to a Network Advisor