What is our primary use case?
We are establishing IT systems from the customers' routers to the nodes in Zscaler. Once we hand over the traffic to them, we wait for them to claim the full IP packet and we send the traffic back to them along with the destination. From our perspective, Zscaler is a security solution that is implemented in the cloud so it's a cloud supported service solution. We are not specifically working on a specific firewall.
What is most valuable?
The solution has this SSL feature which is quite interesting
URL filtering is quite good.
The solution offers good sandboxing.
What needs improvement?
We've had some concerns with Zscaler, but a new version is coming out that we hope will address them. This is scheduled to be released in March 2020. They've probably done some gap analysis and will be introducing more versatile features according to customer requests.
The issue right now is probably that Zscaler is not providing web browser isolation. Another solution, Menlo, offers this. For one customer, we had to send traffic to Menlo to do the isolation for us. It was requested by the customer so that they could integrate any iframe. Zscaler needs to add this type of feature in their next release.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for a year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the solution is good. Our customers have been quite happy with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
You can scale the solution without any issue. It's very good.
We largely work with enterprise-level organizations.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have the impression that technical support is good, but it's the customer that creates the tickets and has direct contact with them. I understand that the number of users is more than 10,000. That means Zscaler is providing a dedicated technical account manager who resolves all the outstanding queries and issues that arise on the network.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
This is the first vendor we have used as far as cloud security is concerned.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. It wasn't too complex.
Deployment times vary. It depends on the number of sites, for example. We have a separate team that works on the delivery part so I'm not able to discuss implementation on a micro-level.
However, deployment depends on the complexity of the solution, the number of sites and what the specific requirements of the customer are. It may take a day or two to fully implement, or three days, at a maximum.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
From our perspective, we're selling three separate packages: Basic, Advanced and Premium.
Depending on the requirement of the customer, we offer the package that makes the most sense.
With Basic, we provide a very limited feature set. Advanced packages will probably provide some better and more advanced features. Premium will provide everything that Zscaler has to offer. That means URL filtering, sandboxing, endpoint mitigation, etc. I'm not sure of the exact costs from Zscaler's side.
The Zscaler pricing, in general, is okay. Once more vendors come into the picture, there will probably be more competition and they may have to reduce their costs. Still, as of right now, it's reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
We're partners with Zscaler.
We have this production suite which we have customized with Zscaler and we are selling this solution to a lot of customers in which we provide sandboxing, URL filtering, testing, blacklisting, etc. We're not using the solution ourselves so much as selling it to our customers.
Zscaler has a good foothold in the market and any new competitor will have to be cognizant of the fact that they will have to be affordable and provide all of the features Zscaler has while being good at threat analysis and filtering.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. If it had web browser isolation I'd rate it higher.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller