Who is zscaler

Overview

Zscaler is a pioneering cloud security company that has fundamentally transformed how organizations protect their digital assets. Founded in 2008 by cybersecurity veteran Jay Chaudhry, the company emerged during a period when traditional perimeter-based security models were becoming increasingly inadequate against evolving threats. Zscaler introduced the revolutionary concept of Security Service Edge (SSE), moving security from hardware appliances to a globally distributed cloud platform.

The company's growth trajectory has been remarkable, going public on NASDAQ in March 2018 under the ticker symbol ZS. Today, Zscaler serves over 7,000 customers worldwide, including 40% of Fortune 500 companies. The platform processes an astonishing 300 billion transactions daily across more than 150 data centers globally, making it one of the largest security clouds in the world.

How It Works

Zscaler operates through its Zero Trust Exchange platform, which implements security as a cloud service rather than relying on traditional hardware appliances.

• Cloud-Native Architecture: Zscaler's platform runs entirely in the cloud across 150+ global data centers, eliminating the need for on-premise security hardware. This distributed architecture enables security inspection to occur closer to users, reducing latency by up to 60% compared to traditional backhauling approaches.
• Zero Trust Principles: The platform enforces strict identity verification for every access request, regardless of whether users are inside or outside the corporate network. This approach has been shown to reduce security incidents by 50% compared to traditional VPN-based access methods.
• Comprehensive Security Stack: Zscaler provides integrated security services including Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). These services work together to inspect all traffic, blocking an average of 150 million threats daily across the platform.
• User-Centric Security: Instead of securing network perimeters, Zscaler focuses on securing individual users and devices. This approach enables consistent security policies regardless of user location, supporting the modern distributed workforce where 70% of employees regularly work remotely.

Key Comparisons

Why It Matters

• Digital Transformation Enablement: Zscaler enables organizations to securely adopt cloud technologies and support remote work. Companies using Zscaler report 40% faster cloud migration projects and 35% reduction in security-related help desk tickets, accelerating digital transformation initiatives.
• Threat Protection at Scale: The platform's global threat intelligence network processes billions of signals daily, providing real-time protection against emerging threats. This collective intelligence approach has helped organizations reduce successful phishing attacks by 80% compared to traditional security solutions.
• Operational Efficiency: By eliminating hardware appliances and simplifying security management, Zscaler reduces operational complexity and costs. Organizations typically see 60% reduction in security infrastructure costs and 50% less time spent on security administration tasks.

As cybersecurity threats continue to evolve and remote work becomes permanent for many organizations, Zscaler's cloud-native approach represents the future of enterprise security. The company continues to innovate, recently expanding into areas like data protection and workload security, positioning itself as a comprehensive platform for the zero trust era. With cyber attacks increasing by 15% annually and cloud adoption accelerating, Zscaler's relevance and impact will only grow in the coming years.