Netskope, a leader in modern security and networking for the cloud and AI era, announced enhancements to its Universal Zero Trust Network Access (UZTNA) solution. Comprised of Netskope One Private Access and Netskope Device Intelligence, Netskope’s UZTNA solution extends beyond the core use case of delivering fast, consistent, secure access to remote and local users and devices to deliver deeper threat inspection of their diverse device ecosystems and private application traffic. Netskope also goes further than other solutions by providing organisations with a clear, scalable framework for retiring or reducing reliance on outdated products such as VPNs, NACs, and VDI, which no longer meet the demands of the modern hybrid enterprise.
Organisations are adopting Universal ZTNA to expand beyond conventional SSE and ZTNA solutions and more effectively secure users and IoT/OT devices across all technology environments, delivering a secure, fast, and consistent user experience regardless of location. According to the 2024 Gartner® Emerging Tech: Universal ZTNA Drives Secure Access Consolidation report, “Universal ZTNA is expected to experience more widespread adoption and grow more than 40% by 2027.” On the strength of its ZTNA technology and UZTNA solution, Netskope was ranked highest in the “Private Application Access” in the 2025 Gartner Critical Capabilities for Security Service Edge report and “Coffee Shop Networking” Use Case in the 2025 Critical Capabilities for SASE Platforms report, respectively.
Netskope’s recently introduced UZTNA functionalities and benefits include:
- Built-in, context-aware device intelligence: Extends UZTNA coverage to IoT/OT devices — such as machines and robots that can’t run agent software — through the 5G Netskope One Gateway, automatically discovering and classifying device risk and enabling the implementation of zero trust policies. Device Intelligence also extends remediation and access control to the east-west plane through integrations with leading third-party NAC vendors, while the firewall capabilities of Netskope One Gateway and Netskope One SSE also provide granular, flexible zero trust enforcement points to ensure consistent protection across north-south traffic.
- Embedded UZTNA threat and data protection: Inspects private app traffic for remote and local private application traffic with the advanced threat protection and data loss prevention (DLP) engines shared across all Netskope security services, with a common policy and management console. This unified approach addresses threats before they reach the network and safeguards sensitive data, providing consistent protection across all users and devices.
- AI-powered policy optimisation with recently announced Copilot: Streamlines ZTNA management by automating granular policy creation for discovered applications, continuously refining and auditing configurations. This enables organisations to accelerate ZTNA adoption, reduce complexity, and scale zero trust with less risk.
- UZTNA at the branch: Enables organisations to efficiently extend access to private applications in branch networks by hosting Netskope’s ZTNA publisher directly on the 5G Netskope One Gateway. This enables enterprises to ensure consistent, least-privilege enforcement across IT, IoT, and OT environments.
“Legacy VPNs, NACs, and early ZTNA tools weren’t designed for the scale, speed, or diversity of today’s enterprises,” said John Martin, Chief Product Officer, Netskope. “With Universal ZTNA, Netskope is redefining secure access by giving organisations one unified, consistent way to secure users and devices whether they are remote or on the local network. Through smarter, risk-based policies, embedded protection, and seamless performance, we’re helping organisations cut complexity, reduce risk, and turn secure access into an enabler, rather than a barrier.”
Netskope’s Universal ZTNA solution, including Netskope One Private Access and Netskope Device Intelligence is available now. To learn more, read the Netskope blog.
