Introduction

QKS Group defines SPARK Plus Zero Trust Network Security (ZTNS) as a solution that provides enhanced security posture for the organization by preventing cyberthreats from penetrating IT systems from inside or outside corporate network perimeter. ZTNS breaks the trust model by authenticating and authorizing all users per access zone by applying multi-factor authentication and enforcing least-privilege security policies. ZTNS can also enable micro-segmentation in the network to reduce and/or prevent the lateral movement of threat actors inside the corporate network landscape.

Zero Trust Network Security has advanced from a specialized security concept to foundational pillar of enterprise cyber resilience. Corporations are accelerating digital transformation, hybrid work, and workloads in multi-cloud environments which leaves behind the perimeter-based defense model. Zero Trust solutions make certain that trust is never implied - every request for access is authenticated, each session is monitored, and every device is evaluated continuously.

In addition to cyber defense, Zero Trust Network Security (ZTNS) is critical in compliance, data protection and loss prevention, supporting companies as they comply with organizations’ stringent regulatory requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA. Its integration with real-time analytics and adaptive security policies further enables dynamic risk management, allowing organizations to respond swiftly to evolving threat patterns and user behaviors. This unique combination of visibility, control, and adaptability is why Zero Trust is the foundation for modern cybersecurity architectures.

While the selection of the "right" ZTNS vendor is strategically important, it is often a significant challenge for organizations. The landscape is dense, with multiple vendors offering seemingly similar capabilities, from secure access to micro-segmentation and identity enforcement. However, real-world deployments often expose variations in integration complexity, policy scalability, latency impact, and return on investment (ROI) realization

Both procurement and IT leaders experience a trust and evaluation gap in the overall selection process. While analyst evaluations offer structure, decision-makers often seek real-world validation from actual technology users. The need of the hour is a framework that combines both — the analytical rigor of expert benchmarking with the experiential insights of verified users. That’s precisely where SPARK Plus™ comes in.

Introducing SPARK Plus™: The Analyst + User Review Framework

SPARK Plus™ is the world’s first Analyst + User Review platform, designed by QKS Group to bring transparency and evidence-based clarity into enterprise technology evaluation. It bridges the gap between expert analysis and real-world performance by combining the SPARK Matrix™ (our proprietary analyst ranking model) with verified user feedback collected from actual deployments across industries and regions.

Through SPARK Plus™, buyers can view how vendors perform across two complementary dimensions:

• Expert Evaluation (SPARK Matrix™): assessing vendors on parameters such as technology excellence, customer impact, innovation, and scalability.
• User Experience (User Reviews): capturing authentic insights on deployment, integration, performance, and support quality.

For instance, the Zscaler SPARK Plus™ listing in the Zero Trust Network Security market provides a holistic view of the vendor’s position. It displays analyst ratings, user sentiment trends, and feature-level performance metrics, allowing potential buyers to visualize where analyst confidence meets real-world satisfaction. This dual-lens approach transforms vendor selection from a speculative exercise into a data-backed decision.

Analyst Insights: Key Vendors in the ZTNS Market

From QKS Group’s recent analysis of the Zero Trust Network Security landscape, three vendors continue to define the competitive dynamics through differentiated approaches:

Zscaler

Zscaler utilizes a cloud-native Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) architecture that connects users directly to applications as opposed to into the corporate network. This limits attack surface and minimizes risks with lateral movement. Zscaler's competitive advantages within the category noted in the report include application protection, AI-enabled threat intelligence, and robust policy enforcement within multiple hybrid deployments. Zscaler is best suited for organizations focused on scale, user experience, and effective security controls regardless of the access situation.

Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks presents a strong and comprehensive Zero Trust offering, especially within several major enterprise environments where supplemented complex, multi-site support can be an important consideration. Its ZTNA offering is highly integrated with the company's next-generation firewall and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) functionality, creating a unified security foundation regardless of the access situation as applicable to on-premises, SaaS, and IoT scenarios. However, there are still traces of a traditional network approach in the rules surrounding deployments resulting in a heavier configuration burden than a purely cloud-native offering like Zscaler.

Akamai

Akamai's Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solution offers context-aware, adaptive security. By default, every user, device, and application is classified as untrusted and is authenticated and authorized at every point of access. Akamai's edge-based architecture provides low latency, high scalability, and comprehensive protection for distributed applications. Akamai's differentiator is enabling policy changes, based on user behavior and threat intelligence — ideal for organizations with users and applications dispersed globally.

SPARK Matrix™ Coverage in SPARK Plus™

SPARK Matrix™ for Zero Trust Network Security has broad industry coverage and includes Banking, Financial Services, & Insurance (BFSI), Education, Retail, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Information Technology & Telecom. The study also covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Latin America, thus providing a global lens for understanding adoption and innovation.

This multi-industry and multi-region approach means SPARK Plus™ provides contextual intelligence. For example, a healthcare provider in Europe can compare solutions driven by compliance needs, while a manufacturing company in APAC can contrast vendors focused on performance to meet latency needs. Buyers can review overall market leaders as well as providers driven by a regional perspective, all from one validated framework.

Conclusion: Bridging Analyst Trust with User Validation

In a market defined by rapid innovation and high stakes, credibility is the new currency. SPARK Plus™ empowers organizations to make confident, evidence-based decisions by merging the analytical depth of QKS Group’s SPARK Matrix™ with the authenticity of verified user experiences.

By providing a single pane of visibility into how vendors perform in expert evaluations and real-world scenarios, SPARK Plus™ bridges the trust gap that has long challenged technology buyers. It doesn’t just rank vendors — it reveals how they deliver on their promises, in practice.

For enterprises navigating the evolving Zero Trust Network Security landscape, SPARK Plus™ represents more than a benchmarking tool. It’s a path toward clarity, enabling decisions grounded in insight, validation, and real-world credibility.

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