Enterprises now measure remote access tools against the zero trust architecture framework, which eschews the longtime assumption that anything inside an enterprise’s corporate perimeter can be trusted out of the box. In a zero-trust model, regardless of whether a user is on the corporate network or working from a coffee shop, every access request is continually authenticated based on identity, device health, and context. As a result, the focus on both the identity proofing and continuous policy enforcement side of remote access platforms has changed how IT teams evaluate these technologies because now strong connectivity is only half the equation. This fourth article in the series considers five long-established platforms that embed zero-trust principles into their enterprise remote access.
Splashtop
Splashtop provides a zero-trust remote access solution overview that combines fast, cross-platform connectivity with the identity verification and access controls that zero-trust frameworks require. With features such as granular permission delegation, multi-factor authentication, and in-depth session logging, the platform enables IT teams to enforce least-privilege access while maintaining fast connections across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android devices.
The strength of Splashtop in zero-trust deployments lies in how it blends centralized administrative session visibility with ease-of-use for everyday use in practice. IT teams can set conditional access policies, view active sessions in real time, and revoke access immediately if a credential or device is compromised without the hefty infrastructure investment required by some wider purview zero-trust platforms.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare’s zero-trust solution is very network-oriented, using its global edge as the delivery point of identity-aware app-specific connections instead of VPNs. Instead of putting users onto a larger corporate network, Cloudflare spins up one-to-one authenticated tunnels to individual applications that minimize the exploitable attack surface exploited by an attacker lucky enough to net a single credential.
This architecture is well-suited for organizations with an existing investment in a network-oriented zero-trust access platform since the zero-trust access layer integrates tightly to the company’s content delivery and DNS security services. For an organization that doesn’t already have a relationship with Cloudflare, expect onboarding to be more complex than if it was a purpose-built remote access tool. This is part of the greater Cloudflare platform offering and not just a single, separated-for-your-needs pitch.
Zscaler
With its private access platform, Zscaler says users connect directly to people, not the underlying network, tying people to apps – in what they describe as an inside-out connection model. Zero trust security framework principles published by NIST describe exactly this kind of resource-level protection rather than perimeter-based defense, and Zscaler’s architecture closely mirrors that approach in practice.
Cost and vendor lock-in to the cloud can be a tradeoff for many organizations. Zscaler’s access platform requires organizations to run it entirely through its cloud infrastructure without a path for on-premises deployment, which might limit enterprises with stringent data sovereignty requirements or niche on-premises environments that must remain isolated from cloud-delivered security layers.
Microsoft Entra ID
With Microsoft Entra ID, zero trust is approached mostly from the identity layer with conditional access policies, multi-factor authentication, and continuous risk assessment to determine if a particular sign-in attempt should be trusted. Instead of being a remote access tool in and of itself, it is often the identity backbone that other zero-trust tools, including remote access platforms use for authentication decisions.
This identity-first strategy complements organizations already standardized on the larger Microsoft ecosystem since Entra ID integrates well into other Microsoft 365 and Azure services. Entra ID might still technically be in use by things not inside that ecosystem, but anyone working on teams inside of Microsoft’s cloud environment enjoy a much smoother experience.
Twingate
Twingate specializes in replacing legacy VPN access with lightweight zero-trust options designed for distributed teams. It focuses on fast and easy-to-deploy software-defined access policies, linking users directly to required resources instead of opening up the entire network.
That narrower scope is, at scale, a limitation. Twingate is designed largely for secure access to internal resources rather than the additional endpoint and session management capabilities that many larger enterprises need, including compliance reporting across thousands of devices. CISA zero trust roadmap guidance for the agency outlines the kind of phased maturity model that most larger organizations need to plan against, which smaller access-focused tools like Twingate are not architected to handle alone.
The Right Platform
The choice between the two types of platforms primarily boils down to whether an organization wants a complete remote access offering or a component of a wider zero-trust initiative that is cobbled together from multiple niche tools. If you support a mixed device fleet across platforms, the simplest solution tends to be a purpose-built enterprise access solution and often a future-proof solution especially if strong identity verification, granular access control and run-time quality of service are key enterprise connectivity use case scenarios.
Frequently Asked Questions
Zero-Trust compliance for a Remote Access tool
This means a zero-trust compliant tool checks each access request separately using authentication based on identity, device health & context, instead of assuming trust due to network location. Generally, this involves multi-factor authentication, continuous session monitoring and immediate revocation of access whenever a risk is identified.
Is zero-trust architecture exclusive to large enterprises only?
Zero-trust principles originated at large enterprises and in the government, but organizations of any size will gain significant benefits from reducing implicit trust and continuously verifying access against least-privileged principles. Zero trust is usually a staged process for smaller organizations, beginning with stronger authentication and adding finer levels of access overtime.
Is it true that zero-trust architecture renders traditional VPNs unnecessary?
Much of the time, zero-trust network access is usurping traditional VPNs because they provide application-layer access instead of wide network bandwidth. Some organizations continue using VPNs alongside zero-trust technologies during the cutover phase, but long-term we see a trend away from network-based access models toward application-specific access models.
