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Unified Platforms Streamline Zero Trust Adoption

Forrester introduced the Zero Trust Model of information security almost two decades ago. Since its inception, Zero Trust has moved from being a concept to a legitimized security approach, resulting in its global acceptance and the practical application of its principles across multiple industries — private and public. Some security pros, however, were reluctant to adopt Zero Trust due to limited knowledge or lack of organizational alignment, or they were stymied by their existing infrastructures and mounting technical debt. These challenges were never about accepting the concept of Zero Trust; they were about gaining organizational buy-in, effectively and efficiently operationalizing it with existing and emerging technologies, and making the strategic (and mental) shift to embrace a different way of doing things. Over time, the vendor community recognized that Zero Trust was the de facto security model of the future, built Zero Trust features into their products, and, subsequently, integrated those discrete products and capabilities into platforms.

Zero Trust platform customers using this evaluation to inform a purchase decision should consider:

1. The need to balance best-of-breed tools with platform solutions. Balancing best-of-breed tools and platform solutions is key to an effective security stack. Best-of-breed tools offer specialized capabilities, while platforms provide integration and centralized management. Overreliance on either can cause issues — complexity and cost from best-of-breed tools or vendor lock-in and, potentially, reduced innovation from platforms. The ideal approach uses platforms for core controls, enhanced by best-of-breed tools to address specific risks, to support a more resilient Zero Trust architecture.

2. The criticality of data correlation for effective security orchestration. Zero Trust platforms enable better insights through streamlined management and visibility to support better data correlation across multiple security functions. But this depends on the breadth and depth of the platform’s native and third-party integrations for a holistic view of core security technologies within the stack. Key integrations and interoperability lead to successful deployments. These can have a profound impact on security tasks, including policy creation and optimization, threat detection, remediation, and improved incident response accuracy.

3. The difference between AI-enhanced and AI-driven value. Most Zero Trust platforms now offer AI-powered capabilities across the security stack. However, the line between marketing and meaningful innovation is often blurred. AI-enhanced platforms improve existing controls, helping analysts detect threats faster or optimize policies. AI-driven platforms go further. They proactively orchestrate policy changes, manage access, and verify identities in real time, often with minimal human input. Organizations must identify the right fit for their individual Zero Trust journey by considering current skill sets, risk tolerance, and operational maturity.

Evaluation Summary

The Forrester Wave™ evaluation highlights Leaders, Strong Performers, and Contenders (see Figures 1 and 2). We intend this evaluation to be a starting point only and encourage clients to view product evaluations and adapt the findings based on their priorities using Forrester’s interactive provider comparison experience.

Read the report: https://reprint.forrester.com/reports/the-forrester-wavetm-zero-trust-platforms-q3-2025-43d86381/index.html