Discover why CIOs and CISOs are replacing VPNs with ZTNA to improve security, visibility, and performance in today’s hybrid, cloud-first, and risk-aware enterprises.
For over two decades, virtual private networks (VPNs) have been the cornerstone of secure remote access. They provide an encrypted tunnel into the corporate network, granting employees the ability to connect to internal systems from anywhere in the world. In their time, VPNs were a practical and even visionary solution, bridging distributed workforces long before hybrid work became mainstream.
But times have changed.
The enterprise IT landscape is no longer defined by a neat and tidy perimeter. Users work from coffee shops, airports, hotels, home offices, as well as corporate offices. Applications live across multiple clouds, SaaS platforms, and legacy data centers. Devices range from managed laptops to personal smartphones, often outside direct corporate control. And attackers have become more sophisticated, targeting identity and access rather than firewalls or endpoints alone.
In this new reality, the VPN model is showing its age. Its binary nature, once you’re in, you’re trusted, clashes with the modern security principle of never trust, always verify. To meet the demands of a hybrid, cloud-first, and risk-aware enterprise, CISOs and CIOs are turning to zero trust network access (ZTNA) as the strategic successor to VPNs and the foundation of a broader zero trust architecture.
The limits of VPN in a perimeter-less world
To understand why the shift is so significant, it helps to recall what VPNs were designed for. They originated in an era when most employees worked from the office, and remote access meant connecting a handful of external users to the corporate LAN. Security was perimeter-based: everything inside the network was trusted, and everything outside was not.
That model no longer holds. Here’s why:
- Flat access and excessive trust
Once authenticated, VPN users typically gain access to large portions of the internal network, not just the specific applications they need. This broad access increases the risk of lateral movement if credentials are stolen or a device is compromised. - Complexity and management overhead
VPNs require network segmentation, firewall rules, and manual configurations to isolate access—processes that are labor-intensive and error-prone. Scaling this across global, hybrid environments is impractical. - Performance bottlenecks
Traditional VPNs route all user traffic through centralized gateways or data centers, even if the destination is a cloud or SaaS app. This tromboning adds latency, frustrates users, and strains infrastructure. - Limited visibility and context
VPNs authenticate at the point of connection but rarely evaluate ongoing trust. They can’t easily access device posture, location risk, or user behavior once access is granted.
The result is a paradox: VPNs secure remote access but simultaneously create new blind spots and vulnerabilities. They deliver connectivity, not control. In contrast, ZTNA flips this model, focusing not on networks but on identity, context, and continuous verification.
ZTNA: A modern approach to access control
ZTNA is built on the core principles of zero trust architecture, which assumes that no user, device, or application should be inherently trusted—whether inside or outside the network. Every access request must be explicitly verified, contextually evaluated, and continuously monitored.
Unlike VPNs, which extend the corporate network to the user, ZTNA connects the user only to the specific application or resource they are authorized for. It hides everything else from view, effectively rendering unauthorized systems invisible.
Key characteristics of ZTNA include:
- Identity-centric access
Access decisions are based on user identity and role, verified through integration with Identity Providers (IdPs) such as Azure AD, Okta, or Ping Identity. - Device and posture awareness
ZTNA solutions assess the device’s security state, whether it’s managed, up to date, or compliant, before granting access. - Contextual risk evaluation
Access policies consider additional factors like location, time of day, and behavior patterns to dynamically adjust trust levels. - Application segmentation
Rather than exposing the entire network, ZTNA isolates each application, limiting what a user (or attacker) can see or reach. - Continuous verification
Trust is not static. ZTNA continuously monitors sessions and can revoke access if risk conditions change.
In practice, ZTNA offers a secure, scalable, and user-friendly way to deliver remote access, whether for employees, contractors, or third-party partners. But for CISOs and CIOs, its true value lies in how it advances the organization’s zero trust maturity and supports business resilience.
How ZTNA empowers CISOs and CIOs in a zero trust journey
Transitioning from VPN to ZTNA is not a mere technology swap; it’s a strategic move that brings the organization closer to the full vision of zero trust. Here’s how it strengthens leadership priorities across security, IT, and business domains.
1. Aligning access control with zero trust principles
At the heart of zero trust is the notion of continuous verification. ZTNA brings this principle to life by enforcing granular, policy-based access controls that dynamically adjust to changing conditions.
For a CISO, this means the organization can enforce least privilege by design; only the right users, on the right devices, can access the right applications under the right circumstances. Unlike VPNs, where trust is granted broadly, ZTNA policies can specify exact conditions for access and continuously validate them.
For a CIO, this ensures a consistent framework for secure access across on-premises, cloud, and SaaS applications. The result is a unified model for workforce access that scales without undermining control, a key milestone in operationalizing zero trust.
2. Reducing the attack surface and limiting breach impact
Every security leader knows that breaches are inevitable. The real differentiator is how well the organization can contain and minimize the damage when one occurs.
VPNs expose internal IPs and allow lateral movement within the network. Once an attacker gains VPN credentials, they can explore the internal environment freely. ZTNA eliminates this risk by using a dark cloud model, applications are never directly exposed to the internet, and unauthorized users cannot even see them.
From a CISO’s perspective, this shrinks the attack surface dramatically. Microsegmentation ensures that even if one application or credential is compromised, the threat is contained. It’s an architectural step toward the zero trust principle of assume breach and minimize blast radius.
For CIOs managing hybrid environments, this segmentation also simplifies network architecture. Instead of complex VPN gateways and ACLs, ZTNA policies define access logically, reducing both risk and complexity.
3. Strengthening visibility and governance
One of the biggest frustrations for security and IT leaders alike is fragmented visibility. VPNs provide limited insight into user activity once connected, leaving blind spots in access governance and compliance reporting.
ZTNA changes that equation. Every connection is authenticated, authorized, and logged, complete with user identity, device state, location, and session duration. This creates a rich telemetry source for analytics, detection, and audit.
For CISOs, this visibility supports continuous risk assessment and threat hunting. It provides clear evidence for demonstrating zero trust progress to executives, auditors, and regulators.
For CIOs, it brings operational clarity, who accessed which app, when, and under what conditions. This simplifies investigations, accelerates troubleshooting, and aligns IT operations with compliance frameworks like NIST 800-207, ISO 27001, and GDPR.
4. Enabling a frictionless user experience
Security solutions succeed only when people use them willingly. VPNs are notorious for being slow, unreliable, and intrusive, especially when connecting to cloud-based applications that sit outside the corporate data center.
ZTNA improves both security and user experience simultaneously. Because it connects users directly to applications (rather than routing through centralized gateways), performance is faster and more consistent. Cloud-native ZTNA services also support single sign-on (SSO), reducing log-in fatigue and password sprawl.
For CIOs striving to balance security with productivity, this is a major win. It allows the organization to protect assets without sacrificing employee experience, a cornerstone of modern digital transformation.
And for CISOs, it helps overcome the cultural resistance often associated with zero trust initiatives: users experience better access, not more friction.
5. Simplifying architecture and scaling securely
Legacy VPN infrastructures were built for fixed networks and predictable traffic. Today’s hybrid environments, with workloads in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and countless SaaS platforms, require something far more agile.
ZTNA is cloud-delivered and identity-driven, meaning it can scale elastically with the business. Whether onboarding new employees, integrating an acquisition, or enabling third-party partners, access can be provisioned dynamically based on policy, not static network configurations.
For CIOs, this agility translates into faster IT integration, reduced complexity, and lower total cost of ownership. For CISOs, it ensures that security controls scale consistently with business growth—a key pillar of resilience in an era of constant change.
6. Supporting compliance and board-level reporting
Modern CISOs and CIOs are increasingly accountable not just for technology operations, but for measurable risk reduction and compliance posture. ZTNA simplifies both.
Because ZTNA enforces identity-based policies and captures detailed logs, it aligns naturally with regulatory frameworks that emphasize access control and auditability. Whether reporting on ISO 27001 access reviews, GDPR data access principles, or NIST zero trust guidelines, ZTNA provides concrete evidence of due diligence.
Furthermore, for executive and board reporting, ZTNA provides tangible metrics, such as the number of privileged users, policy enforcement rates, and device compliance trends, that communicate zero trust progress in business-relevant terms.
The transition journey: From VPN to ZTNA
Shifting from VPN to ZTNA is not a rip-and-replace exercise. Most organizations adopt a phased approach, often starting with a subset of users or high-risk applications before expanding enterprise-wide.
Typical migration steps include:
- Assess the current access landscape
Inventory all users, applications, and devices that currently rely on VPN access. Identify which resources are most critical or at highest risk. - Integrate identity and policy frameworks
Establish a single source of truth for user identity (e.g., Azure AD) and align it with ZTNA’s policy engine. This enables consistent enforcement across environments. - Start with pilot groups
Roll out ZTNA to specific departments, remote users, or third-party contractors. Use the pilot to refine policies and measure performance. - Expand coverage progressively
Once stable, extend ZTNA to all users and applications, cloud, on-prem, and SaaS, while gradually decommissioning VPN infrastructure. - Measure, optimize, and communicate
Use ZTNA analytics to demonstrate security and productivity gains to leadership and the board. Emphasize improved user experience and risk reduction.
A well-planned migration doesn’t just modernize remote access; it sets the stage for broader zero trust implementation across data, workloads, and infrastructure.
Looking ahead: ZTNA as a foundation for full zero trust
ZTNA is often the first visible step in a zero trust transformation because it delivers immediate, measurable benefits: stronger security, better visibility, and improved user experience. But it also acts as a gateway to deeper zero trust adoption.
Once access control is modernized, organizations can extend zero trust principles into endpoint protection, cloud workload security, data loss prevention, and continuous monitoring. ZTNA becomes the connective tissue between identity, device, and data, enabling adaptive, risk-based security across the enterprise.
For CISOs, this creates a framework where security is not a static control but a living process of validation, monitoring, and response. For CIOs, it establishes a scalable, consistent model for access that supports digital transformation without compromising resilience.
Conclusion: Modern security for a modern enterprise
The move from VPN to ZTNA is more than a technical upgrade. It’s a strategic shift in mindset. It replaces the outdated notion of a trusted perimeter with a dynamic, identity-driven model that fits the realities of hybrid work, cloud computing, and evolving cyber threats.
For CISOs, ZTNA brings visibility, control, and measurable progress toward zero trust maturity. For CIOs, it delivers operational simplicity, scalability, and a superior user experience. Together, it enables both to achieve what every board now demands: secure, frictionless access that underpins innovation and resilience.
In a world where trust must be earned continuously, ZTNA is not just the future of secure access—it’s the foundation of the zero trust enterprise.
Blog Author:
Jaye Tillson
Field CTO
