Most IT leaders explore the concept of Zero Trust to improve their organization’s cybersecurity posture. However, the complexity of Zero Trust’s pillars and the term’s different interpretations often cause teams to lose momentum over time. By focusing on Zero Trust’s benefits, IT teams
can move beyond blockers in three ways: define specific milestones, gain internal alignment, and revisit the guiding why behind better security.
Communicating the tangible end-user benefits to your stakeholders can reinvigorate top-down commitment to cybersecurity.
Benefits of Zero Trust implementation for end users
Here are six examples of how Zero Trust enables end users:
1: Reduce the burden of security on end users.
Most breaches are caused by social engineering, a method that lures individuals into sharing confidential information. Pursuing Zero Trust reduces the burden of security on individuals and institutionalizes it using secure access protocols such as multi-factor authentication. The increase in remote work makes secure access essential. Zero Trust enables employees to bring their own device (BYOD) and log in by proving their identity multiple times.
Overall, those changes increase security and ease administrative processes for end users. Honest mistakes are inevitable, but Zero Trust reduces breach
probability and limits impact.
2: Ease friction and improve productivity.
Legacy systems requiring VPN access are less secure and more cumbersome to use than their modern counterparts. Implementing MFA, leveraging passwordless authentication, and eliminating VPN reduces day-to-day friction and improves end user productivity. According to Forrester, Zero Trust enabled by Microsoft Azure AD speeds up new devices set up by 75%. This not only saves time but also on ongoing technical support in the weeks following a new hire.
3: Enable uniform policies to secure systems, networks, and infrastructures.
Zero Trust inherently leads to better defined processes for system access. Standardizing onboarding, permissions, and access controls promotes adherence to processes and accelerates deployment speed. When the full team follows clear policies, the number of incidents decrease.
4: Perform fewer system-wide upgrades.
Security system and sensitive data requirements evolve constantly. Zero Trust strategies often exceed other regulatory requirements, allowing companies to meet expectations as they pursue an advanced cybersecurity posture. Holistically, this means companies spend less and still fulfill new regulatory requirements, efficiently using resources.
5: Reduce SOC alerts through automation and improved triage.
For organizations using Microsoft, Zero Trust encourages the consolidation of tools to one integrated system. Forrester reported Sentinel—part of the Microsoft enterprise office and security suite—can reduce the number of false positives (suspicious alerts that are actually benign) by 79% because it uses AI to detect and analyze threats at scale across the enterprise, focusing analysts’ attention on valid alerts.
6. Automatically detect and remediate over 90% of security incidents.
The detection and remediation of security incidents takes time away from IT resources. Similar to Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender can automatically detect and remediate security incidents. Always-on monitoring across the entire system allows Microsoft Defender to solve over 90% of security events, isolating threats and preventing a greater attack from spreading across the environment.
Achieving better cybersecurity is a broad goal, and Zero Trust can provide tangible benefits for end users. From better work processes to utilizing a suite of Microsoft solutions to consolidate tools, the positive effects of Zero Trust advance the entire organization.
Consolidate cybersecurity solutions with Microsoft
The ability to leverage current solutions rather than invest in new ones is appealing to many internal decision-makers. Microsoft’s suite of solutions has the tools needed to create a Zero Trust environment tailored to your organization. As a Microsoft Partner, Ascent Solutions specializes in selecting and optimizing the right mix of tools to meet any business goal.
Ignite Zero Trust momentum with Ascent Solutions at your side
Zero Trust complexity can slow down measurable progress inside organizations. Keep internal stakeholders updated on the tangible ways Zero Trust is benefiting the entire organization by highlighting results. Defining metrics specific to the business is the best way to tie architecture decisions to risk and make meaningful Zero Trust progress.
Ascent Solutions’ technical expertise and business change enablement needed to push Zero Trust forward. Contact us to get started or continue learning about Zero Trust by reading our e-book about common blockers in the Zero Trust journey.
