State of Oklahoma Selects Zscaler to Secure Remote Access and Improve Cybersecurity

Rhea-AI Summary

Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) announced the implementation of its Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA™) and Zscaler Private Access™ (ZPA™) products by the State of Oklahoma's Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES). This deployment aims to support 30,000 teleworking employees by enhancing security and managing increased remote access demands during the pandemic. With Zscaler's cloud-based solutions, the state improved VPN efficiency by five to six times and reduced service desk tickets, significantly enhancing user experience and productivity.

Positive

• Implemented ZIA and ZPA to support 30,000 teleworking employees.
• Achieved VPN efficiency improvements by five to six times.
• Reduced service desk tickets, enhancing user experience.

Negative

• None.

State IT Leaders Implement a Zero Trust Approach to Strengthen Security While Keeping Employees Productive and Supporting Citizens

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS), the leader in cloud security, today announced that the State of Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) selected and implemented Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA™) and Zscaler Private Access™ (ZPA™) products, part of the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ platform, to simplify the IT operations, quickly scale remote access for all employees anywhere they reside, and protect government data and applications from cybersecurity threats.

When the pandemic hit, the State of Oklahoma needed to rapidly support more than 30,000 teleworking employees as they adapted to evolving workstyle requirements. Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) needed to prepare for up to 50% increase in requests for benefits month over month.

Using their legacy remote access solutions, many State agencies initially experienced outages as networks were overwhelmed with external logins and service requests. The State’s legacy VPN solutions simply could not meet the increased volume and scalability demands. This resulted in a surge in calls to service desks and hundreds of VPN tickets a day, as well as increased cyber risk.

OMES deployed ZPA, a cloud-based zero trust network solution and ZIA, a cloud-based secure internet and web gateway solution, strengthening security, policy enforcement, and significantly improving the user experience. With Zscaler:

• The OMES team provided secure direct access for 10,000 users in days, and fully implemented ZPA within just 48 hours, deploying to 90+ State agencies to date.
• The Department of Corrections (DOC) standardized their remote access solution and scaled down expensive connected services, which ultimately sped up VPN efficiency by five to six times. This efficiency resulted in reduced costs, increased productivity, and enhanced user experience.
• OKDHS reduced the number of tickets and DOC provided five times faster secure access than its legacy VPN solution.
  

“The more complex an environment, the more difficult that environment is to secure,” said PJ Joubert, Public Sector Regional Sales Manager, Zscaler. “For Oklahoma, as well as other states and Federal agencies, Zscaler simplifies remote access and accelerates digital transformation progress,” said Joubert. “This means government teams keep employees safe, productive, and focused on serving citizens and reducing cyber risk.”

“We’ve completely changed the cybersecurity posture of the State of Oklahoma in the last 18 months – Zscaler played a big part in that,” said Matt Singleton, CISO, Office of Management and Enterprise Services, State of Oklahoma. “The integration of the different platforms is giving us unprecedented visibility into the environment. We can respond faster. In some cases, we can forecast where we may have issues, and address those things before they become a problem.”

Learn more about the partnership and customer success stories on the Zscaler website at https://www.zscaler.com/customers/all-customers.

About Zscaler
Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) accelerates digital transformation so customers can be more agile, efficient, resilient, and secure. The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange protects thousands of customers from cyberattacks and data loss by securely connecting users, devices, and applications in any location. Distributed across more than 150 data centers globally, the SASE-based Zero Trust Exchange is the world’s largest in-line cloud security platform.
Zscaler™ and the other trademarks listed at https://www.zscaler.com/legal/trademarks are either (i) registered trademarks or service marks or (ii) trademarks or service marks of Zscaler, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Any other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

Media Contact:
Natalia Wodecki
press@zscaler.com 

Investor Relations Contact:
Bill Choi, CFA
ir@zscaler.com 

FAQ

What did Zscaler announce on April 6, 2021?

Zscaler announced the implementation of its ZIA and ZPA products by the State of Oklahoma to support teleworking employees and improve security.

How did Zscaler improve Oklahoma's remote access?

Zscaler provided a cloud-based solution that increased VPN efficiency by five to six times and reduced service desk tickets.

What is the purpose of Zscaler's Zero Trust Exchange?

The Zero Trust Exchange aims to securely connect users, devices, and applications while protecting against cyberattacks.

What challenges did Oklahoma face before implementing Zscaler solutions?

Before Zscaler, Oklahoma's legacy VPN struggled to handle increased remote access demands, leading to outages and high service desk call volumes.

Which products from Zscaler were used by Oklahoma?

Oklahoma implemented Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) and Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) products.