From one ‘green thumb’ to another, The Plant People under new ownership
Zilber Property Group stakes its claim in Northeast Wisconsin
July 6, 2026
For years, Secure Sockets Layer virtual private networks (SSL VPNs) were the default answer for remote access.
If someone needed to work from home or log in while traveling, you gave them VPN access and moved on.
That model made sense when most work happened within a defined network, with “outside access” the exception, not the norm.
But that world doesn’t exist anymore.
Today, employees are connecting from everywhere: home offices, airports, personal devices and unmanaged networks.
At the same time, company systems are no longer centralized – they’re scattered across cloud platforms, SaaS applications and hybrid environments.
What used to be a clearly defined perimeter is now fluid at best.
And that’s where the traditional VPN model starts to break down – not all at once, but gradually, as access expands and visibility shrinks.
What ZTNA actually is (without the buzzwords)
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) isn’t just another tool to layer on top of your stack.
It’s a different way of thinking about access.
At a high level, it operates on a simple principle: access should be earned continuously – not granted once and assumed safe.
In a VPN model, once a user logs in, they are effectively “inside” the network.
Even with controls in place, access is often broader than intended and, in most environments, it only grows over time.
ZTNA takes a different approach.
It doesn’t grant access to a network – it grants access to specific applications, one at a time, based on context:
- Who the user is
- What device they’re using
- Where they’re connecting from
- Whether anything about the request looks unusual
It’s less like handing someone a master key and more like checking their badge at every door.
That distinction may seem subtle, but in practice it changes the entire risk profile.
What ZTNA does in practice
When you strip away the acronyms, ZTNA is really about control and visibility applied consistently.
It verifies identity every time.
Access isn’t a one-time event – it’s continuously evaluated.
It considers the device, not just the person.
In many small- to mid-sized business (SMB) environments, this is where risk quietly accumulates – a known user on an unknown or unmanaged device.
It limits access to what is actually needed.
Instead of broad network access, permissions are tied to individual applications.
It reduces exposure by default.
Applications are effectively hidden from anyone who isn’t authenticated, which means fewer opportunities for discovery and attack.
Additionally, unlike traditional VPNs, which expose services to inbound connections, ZTNA typically uses outbound-only connectors from the application environment to the provider.
This eliminates the need for open inbound firewall ports for remote access.
Why companies are moving away from SSL VPNs
The shift away from VPNs isn’t about chasing new technology – it’s about acknowledging where the old model creates risk, often in ways that aren’t immediately visible.
VPN access tends to expand over time, whether intentionally or not.
What starts as limited access becomes difficult to unwind as teams grow and responsibilities shift.
Trust after login no longer holds up.
Credentials can be compromised, sessions can be hijacked and devices can become vulnerable mid-session.
ZTNA addresses this by continuously validating access, not just at the start.
Performance and user experience also matter more than they used to.
When access is slow or unreliable, users find workarounds and those workarounds introduce risk.
ZTNA connects users to applications through distributed edge networks, often reducing the need to backhaul traffic through a central VPN gateway.
More broadly, the network itself is no longer the right boundary.
The perimeter has dissolved, whether we’ve formally acknowledged it or not.
This increases the risk for bad actors to enter our networks, jeopardizing our most important asset – our data.
ZTNA reflects this reality by making the user identity and device posture the boundary and the application the control point.
What this looks like in the real world
In many SMB environments, VPN access ends up being far more expansive than anyone originally planned.
Not because of poor intent, but because it’s the simplest way to keep the business moving.
That approach works – until it doesn’t.
And when it fails, it tends to fail quietly.
With ZTNA, users access only what they specifically need, and nothing more.
That level of control isn’t just cleaner – it’s enforceable.
Why this matters at the leadership level
This isn’t just a technical upgrade.
It’s a shift in how organizations manage risk as they scale.
With a reduced blast radius, issues are contained by design.
There is better alignment with modern work, remote, distributed and cloud-first.
And there is a more predictable security posture, fewer assumptions and more verification.
The bigger shift: From trusting networks to designing access
Old model:
- Protect the network
- Trust users inside
New model:
- Verify continuously
- Limit access intentionally
The difference isn’t incremental – it’s structural.
Final thought
ZTNA is often seen as a gold standard in managing remote access.
It’s not just stronger security – it’s more deliberate.
Increasingly, the companies that get this right aren’t the ones with the most tools.
They’re the ones that have taken the time to rethink how access should work in the first place.
Security failures are expensive, not just financially, but operationally.
By reducing unnecessary access and continuously validating users and devices, ZTNA helps strengthen resilience, protect critical data and keep the business running without interruption.
This should be added to your next conversation with your IT staff or provider.
