ZTNA Unfiltered: What’s Working and What’s Just Hype.

From buzzwords to practical action, this live panel cut through the noise on Zero Trust, SASE, and ZTNA. Hosted by Secon’s Technical Director Linton Geach, the session brought together:

• Hayden Anderson, Senior Security Consultant, Secon Cyber
• Ritchie Fry, Channel SE, Cato Networks
• Kyriakos Siamplettos, Pre-Sales Consultant, Infinigate

These hands-on specialists didn’t just talk theory. They’ve deployed, broken, fixed, and optimised secure access strategies across real-world environments. What followed was an honest, insight-rich discussion on what’s working today and what’s not. You can watch the full recording below or read our summary to get the key takeaways in minutes.

1. ZTNA isn’t a switch. It’s a journey.

One of the strongest messages from the panel was this, ZTNA isn’t something you buy and tick off. It’s part of a wider transformation. While Zero Trust is the mindset, ZTNA is one of the key tools that helps bring it to life. But without the right foundations, identity, visibility, policy, and governance, it won’t deliver the results you expect.

The journey starts with strategy, not just technology. Without that, organisations risk adding complexity instead of building confidence.

2. ZTNA is outperforming VPNs in every way that matters.

Traditional VPNs are showing their age. Common pain points like performance bottlenecks, broad access privileges, and lack of visibility came up again and again. ZTNA fixes this by delivering application-specific access, real-time posture checks, and a drastic drop in support tickets.

3. Don’t mistake rebranded VPNs for ZTNA.

Some vendors are slapping “Zero Trust” labels on legacy tech. True ZTNA offers continuous identity and device verification, least-privilege access, and dynamic policy enforcement. If users can still see more than what they need, you haven’t really moved on from VPNs.

4. Architecture matters. Consolidation is winning.

A unified platform doesn’t just simplify operations, it reduces policy gaps, boosts visibility, and cuts down on overhead. Especially for smaller security teams, consolidated SASE platforms built around ZTNA can be a force multiplier. Larger orgs may still need flexibility in some areas. One size doesn’t fit all.

5. Single-pass architecture isn’t just tech speak. It’s a performance game changer.

ZTNA inside a single-pass architecture speeds up traffic, simplifies security enforcement, and avoids the latency tax of sending traffic through multiple point products. It also improves threat detection by giving every engine the same view of each session.

6. Identity isn’t optional. It’s the control plane.

The panel was aligned: effective ZTNA starts with a rock-solid identity strategy. That means a trusted source of identity, continuous validation, and enforcement that adjusts in real time based on user, device, and context. End-user education is critical to avoid policy pushback.

7. ZTNA is no longer niche. It’s becoming the default.

We’re past the early adopter phase. More organisations are budgeting for ZTNA and SASE as a way to modernise access, simplify security, and support hybrid work. The motivation is clear. Replace ageing VPNs, reduce technical debt, and move towards a more future-proof model.

This wasn’t just another vendor talk. It was a practical, unfiltered look at how real organisations are reshaping secure access and what it takes to get it right.

If you’re exploring your own journey from legacy to modern access, we’re always on hand to help.