Zscaler Named a Visionary in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SASE Platforms: Excited for the Zero Trust Branch

We are proud to announce that Zscaler has been recognized as a Visionary in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SASE Platforms. In our opinion, this position is a powerful validation of our distinct and forward-thinking architectural vision for the future of secure connectivity – a vision that fundamentally challenges traditional networking paradigms to deliver comprehensive Zero Trust.
 

As the industry leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Security Service Edge (SSE), our expertise in cloud-native security is well-established. Gartner defines SASE as a converged network and security offering, typically including capabilities like SD-WAN, SWG, CASB, NGFW, and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). While vendors who built or acquired traditional SD-WAN capabilities might more easily align with this definition and score highly on “execution” due to the maturity of SD-WAN, Zscaler takes a radically different, truly Zero Trust approach to SASE. We believe our position as a Visionary in this critical Magic Quadrant underscores Gartner’s recognition of our completeness of vision, even as our architectural philosophy stands apart.

Zscaler is a Visionary: Unpacking the Zero Trust Branch

At Zscaler, we believe that the traditional Wide Area Network (WAN), and its evolution into SD-WAN, poses a fundamental conflict with a true Zero Trust security model. Much like legacy VPNs, traditional SD-WAN solutions are designed around network connectivity. They inherently create network access, enabling lateral threat movement once an attacker gains a foothold, thereby undermining the ability to provide Zero Trust protection everywhere.
 

Our vision for SASE is built on a revolutionary premise:  we believe enterprises should move away from owning and operating WANs. Instead, we are pioneering the concept of the "Zero Trust Branch" – what we affectionately call "cafe-like branches" for their sense of simplicity.

The "Cafe-Like Branch" Revolution: No WAN, All Security

Imagine a branch office or remote location where users and devices connect directly and securely to applications and the internet, *without ever being placed on a network*. We believe this is the essence of a "cafe-like branch" powered by Zscaler.

• Eliminating Implicit Trust: We remove the very pathways that enable lateral threat movement by ensuring users and devices connect directly to the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange, not to a corporate network.
• Direct-to-Application Access: All connections are brokered by the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™, ensuring granular, policy-driven access only to specific resources, and nothing more. We believe this contrasts sharply with network-centric approaches that provide broad network access.
• Cloud-Native Security at the Edge: Comprehensive security services – including ZTNA, CASB, DLP, Firewall-as-a-Service, and advanced threat protection – are delivered inline from our global cloud, eliminating the need for expensive, complex security appliances at the branch.
• Unmatched Simplicity & Agility: Without a WAN to manage, network administration is dramatically simplified, allowing IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives and enabling business agility for hybrid work and cloud adoption.

We believe Gartner's recognition of Zscaler on the 'completeness of vision' axis in the Magic Quadrant signals their acknowledgment of our innovative and forward-thinking direction. We believe we are not simply integrating existing technologies; we are fundamentally redefining secure connectivity for the cloud era. We believe our approach is designed to make traditional SD-WAN increasingly less relevant over time as enterprises embrace the Zero Trust Branch.

The Zero Trust Exchange: Enabling the Future

The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange, built from the ground up as the world's largest cloud security platform, is the foundation of our SASE vision. It acts as a secure onramp for users, devices, and workloads, connecting them directly to the applications and data they need, regardless of location. We believe this enables us to deliver:

• True Zero Trust Everywhere: By eliminating the inherent lateral movement risks of traditional network-based approaches.
• Superior Security: Comprehensive, inline threat prevention and data protection.
• Unrivaled Performance: Direct-to-cloud connections for low latency and a seamless user experience.
• Exceptional Operational Efficiency: Consolidated security and networking functions, reducing costs and complexity.

Looking Ahead: Defining the Next Generation of Secure Connectivity

In our opinion, being named a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for SASE Platforms validates our long-held belief that the future of enterprise connectivity lies beyond the WAN. We are committed to pushing the boundaries of what's possible, providing organizations with a SASE platform that is not just secure for today, but designed for the challenges of tomorrow. We are excited to continue demonstrating the successful execution of our Zero Trust Branch vision throughout FY26 and beyond, proving the superior security and operational benefits for our customers.
 

We invite you to read the full report to understand why Gartner has recognized Zscaler as a Visionary.

Download the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SASE Platforms Report Here!

*Gartner, Magic Quadrant for SASE Platforms, By Andrew Lerner, John Watts, Neil MacDonald, Thomas Lintemuth, 26 June 2025.*

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