Earlier this month at MWC 2025, Verizon Business announced the release of its new Verizon Trusted Connection, a Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Security Service Edge (SSE) platform that unifies secure connectivity and policy enforcement across enterprise devices, networks, and applications.

The new offering sees Verizon targeting midsize enterprises seeking to consolidate security and networking services under a single provider and management interface.

Trusted Connection provides persistent verification of users, devices, and access context. It enables secure access to applications regardless of whether those reside in public cloud, private data centers, or hybrid infrastructure. Verizon combines this security architecture with a curated set of network services and offers Trusted Connection as a managed service.

Technical Details

Trusted Connection integrates key cloud-native security components under the SSE umbrella:

• Zero Trust Network Access:  Verizon enforces user- and device-based identity verification at every access point. Access decisions consider device posture, user authentication strength, and session context. The platform supports granular access control, preventing lateral movement within the network.
• Secure Web Gateway (SWG): Protects outbound web traffic through URL filtering, malicious content inspection, and traffic logging. SWG functionality includes real-time threat detection and blocking of risky domains.
• Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB): Monitors and controls data transfer between users and SaaS platforms. It provides centralized policy management across multiple SaaS applications, simplifying compliance enforcement and shadow IT visibility.
• Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS): Delivers layer 3–7 firewall policies via the cloud. Verizon applies these policies to traffic flows across locations and user groups, including mobile endpoints and branch offices.
• Policy and Access Management: Administrators define per-user or per-group policies through a centralized management portal. Policies apply consistently across distributed environments, including remote workforces, branch sites, and multi-cloud environments.
• Encrypted Connectivity and Endpoint Verification: Trusted Connection establishes encrypted tunnels from any endpoint to any approved digital resource. The system validates device posture before granting access, reinforcing trust across connections.
• Operational Insights and Automation: Verizon includes visibility tools such as anomaly detection, automated alerting, and centralized dashboards. The platform surfaces policy violations and behavioral anomalies for investigation and response.

Analysis

Verizon Business enters the Zero Trust and SSE market with a vertically integrated solution tailored for midmarket enterprises.

The company’s new offering consolidates secure access, identity enforcement, and threat protection into a platform that does not require significant in-house security expertise.  This single-provider approach for both network and security services will be appealing to customers seeking operational simplicity and faster time-to-value.

The offering competes with standalone and integrated solutions from vendors including:

• Zscaler (Zscaler Internet Access, Zscaler Private Access)
• Cisco (Cisco Secure Access, Umbrella)
• Palo Alto Networks (Prisma Access)
• Cloudflare (Cloudflare One)

Verizon differentiates by combining SSE capabilities with its existing enterprise connectivity portfolio and support infrastructure. While it may not yet match the breadth of threat intelligence or advanced analytics from specialized security vendors, Verizon’s embedded presence in enterprise networks and managed services is a compelling offering for cost-conscious midmarket segments.

Competitive Outlook & Advice to IT Buyers

These sections are only available to NAND Research clients. Please reach out to info@nand-research.com to learn more.