ZScaler SSE magic quadrant

[jonwayne235]

The SSE market is growing at a blistering pace and Zscaler appears to be in the lead.
The major complaint by ZScaler clients appear to be just the pricing at renewal time. I’d say that is a good thing to have as the only real call out! Certainly implies there is no strong pricing pressure so far.

https://www.crn.com/slide-shows/security/zscaler-cisco-mcafe…

Gartner’s First-Ever Security Service Edge Magic Quadrant

The security service edge (SSE) market is red-hot as businesses with hybrid workforces are clamoring for consistent security solutions from the cloud.

Leading the global security service edge market are cybersecurity all-stars Zscaler, Netskope and McAfee Enterprise, as well as technology giants like Cisco and Palo Alto Networks, according to Gartner’s first-ever 2022 Magic Quadrant for Security Service Edge.

Total market revenue for SSE was approximately $2.5 billion in 2020, with the market growing at upwards of 21 percent year over year. The biggest market trends that are driving adoption of security service edge solutions include the hybrid workforce model, SD-WAN transformation and a significant increase in cloud adoption.

By 2025, 70 percent of organizations that implement agent-based zero trust network access will choose an SSE provider rather than a stand-along offering, up from 20 percent in 2021, according to IT research firm Gartner.

Another Gartner market prediction is that by 2025, 80 percent of organizations seeking to buy SSE-related services will purchase a consolidated SSE solution, compared to a stand-along cloud access security broker, secure web gateways and zero trust network access offerings, up from only 15 percent in 2021.

Zscaler took home the No. 1 spot for execution on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Security Service Edge. The company also ranks fourth for vision on the quadrant.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company offers Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA), Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) and Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX) services. It also offers CSPM and Zscaler Cloud Protection, which includes identity-based segmentation of workloads. Last year, the company acquired cloud infrastructure entitlement management vendor Trustdome, and deception technology standout Smokescreen.

Strength: Zscaler has a track record of innovation and continues to invest before its competitors to provide interesting innovation. The company has a strong marketing message that boosts its mind share in the market.

Weakness: Zscaler’s clients frequently identify its pricing as their top complaint, particularly at renewal time, Gartner said.

The Feb 2022 SSE magic quadrant: https://www.zscaler.com/gartner-magic-quadrant-security-serv…

[jonwayne235]

Also of interest from the CRN site, is the weaknesses cited by Gartner among the competition versus Zscaler.

Weakness: McAfee Enterprise has a large installed base, but Gartner estimates that its growth in SSE seats and new customers is slower than that of Zscaler and Netskope.

Weakness: Netskope’s cloud firewall does not support Layer 7 firewall controls outside of HTTP and HTTPS applications. The company has a “cautious approach” to releasing new features for its platform, Gartner said.

Weakness: Client feedback from Gartner indicates that it is expensive and confusing to achieve full SSE functionality with Palo Alto Networks.

Weakness: Cisco provides limited security options for unmanaged device access to SaaS applications outside a corporate network. It also offers only basic data security controls, applied through separate policies for in-line data and data at rest.

Weakness: Bitglass is one of the smallest companies in this market. It does not have the same levels of market share and client visibility as leading SSE vendors.

Weakness: Lookout has few SD-WAN partnerships, and focuses on threat defense for mobile operating systems rather than nonmobile devices. The company also lacks a firewall as-a-service offering.

Weakness: Broadcom’s sales strategy focuses on the largest companies worldwide, which limits its appeal to smaller companies. Organizations outside this category find it difficult to purchase or receive support from Broadcom.

Weakness: iboss’s SSE offering integrates with few SaaS applications via API. Iboss has fewer strategic Tier 1 sales partners and managed security service provider partners to sell its solutions compared to other vendors.

Weakness: Versa SASE’s UI is complicated in terms of building security policies and troubleshooting. The company has limited market visibility and market share as a security vendor.

Weakness: Forcepoint’s SSE lacks strong integration between components at the management and reporting layers. As a result, multiple consoles are required to access different aspects of the service.

As I said I think it is a very good thing to see the only “weakness” for ZS according to Gartner is renewal pricing complaint by customers.