Zero Trust Pays Off: Reclaim Capital for AI Innovation and M&As While Minimizing Risk

Modernizing your network-centric, appliance-based security architecture to a zero trust architecture can accelerate AI innovation and expansion. Every dollar you recover from retiring legacy VPNs, firewalls, and point products can be reallocated to drive your AI or M&A strategy. When your growth roadmap includes M&As, zero trust becomes an integration advantage, reducing the time, complexity, and risk of bringing acquired users, apps, and data onboard.

The cost efficiencies you gain by investing in a zero trust architecture can free up capital to fund innovations that fuel future growth, strengthen your competitive posture, and enhance business agility. 

The zero trust payoff by the numbers

Our new infographic helps you understand the economics of zero trust. Backed by real-world metrics from our customers, it describes how Zscaler’s zero trust architecture enables you to reclaim capital by eliminating the costs of legacy technologies while building a future-proof scalable risk management strategy. These zero trust cost efficiencies create a cascade phenomenon. For example, infrastructure savings lead to reduced complexity which, in turn, lowers operational overhead costs.

On average, our customers have achieved the following results:

• 90% elimination of security appliances
• 79% security staff time freed up for high-value initiatives
• 85% reduction in ransomware attacks
• 279% return on investment

The infographic highlights four specific areas of cost savings with interrelated benefits that build on each other: infrastructure savings, operational efficiency and simplicity, lower risk, increased business agility/productivity.

Operating at the speed of business while staying secure

These real-world examples attest to the tangible business benefits of implementing Zscaler.

• Technology giant Siemens eliminated VPNs and firewalls by switching to zero trust access for 320,000 workers in just two weeks. 
  
  Business Benefits: Technology expenditures slashed by two-thirds, a lean IT-to-user ratio of one full-time IT professional to every 25,000 users, and 3x faster M&A onboarding (from 18 months to only six).

  “We have been able to reduce costs for this environment and management by 70%. We have also gained speed; with de-mergers or acquisition being done in record time.”

  —CIO Hanna Hennig

• Leader in monetization solutions Zuora eliminates VPN, simplifies its environment, and saves $500K+.
  
  Business Benefit: Reduced bandwidth costs, higher productivity through seamless remote user experience across 17 worldwide locations, and accelerated innovation.
  
  “We now have the right level of agility to meet our changing business needs and to securely and confidently innovate by taking advantage of cutting edge AI technologies."

  —CIO Karthik Chakkarapani

• Global digital bank Inter provides unified protection for 33 PB of data, full visibility and control over AI and LLM models.
  
  Business Benefit: $4.25 million in savings by decreasing risk exposure and faster remediation time from days to minutes. 

  “Our digital-first model reshaped our environment […] we realized that we needed to balance rapid expansion and the speed of innovation with a robust security posture. Zscaler enables us to be both fast-moving and secure.” 

  —CISO Lucas Bernardes

• Life sciences and research company BioIVT reduces security spend by retiring 15 ageing point products (VPNs, firewalls, legacy SD-WANs), integrates M&As in 48 hours versus 6 months, and fortifies its security posture.

  Business Benefit: Sets itself up for faster expansion, provides stronger security for 60+ donor centers and hundreds of UK blood banks, and reduces cybersecurity insurance costs by 20%.

  “As our organization moves forward with our M&A-driven expansion, we are now in a position of strength from a security perspective. Zscaler serves as the springboard for maturing our cybersecurity and protecting our future growth as a company."

  —Acting CISO Chad Pallett
   

These are just a few examples of how the savings gained from implementing a zero trust architecture can unlock funds to accelerate AI initiatives and M&A integration. The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange does more than reduce risk—it frees up capital, transforming security from a cost center into a competitive advantage. It simply makes good business sense. 

Learn more by viewing the infographic here.