From VPNs to Zero Trust: Implementing Entra Global Secure Access Private Access

For years, organizations have relied on perimeter based technologies such as ISA Server, TMG, firewalls, VPNs, and later Secure Web Gateways to provide access to internal resources. These solutions evolved incrementally, often bolting identity on after the fact, and struggled to keep pace with cloud adoption, remote work, and Zero Trust principles.

This session traces that evolution and explains how Microsoft Entra Global Secure Access, specifically Private Access, represents a fundamental shift in how private applications are securely published and consumed. We will demystify common industry and Microsoft acronyms including SASE, SSE, SWG, IAG, GSA, and PIM, and place them into a clear architectural context.

The core of the session focuses on Entra ID as the control plane. You will see how Conditional Access, Authentication Strengths, device signals, and Identity Governance integrate directly with Private Access to enforce least privilege and continuous verification, rather than network level trust. We will also cover practical design considerations, traffic flows, and common pitfalls.

The session concludes with a real-world walkthrough of standing up a functional Private Access proof of concept in a single day, showing how identity-first access can replace legacy VPN patterns without compromising security or user experience.

60 - 75 minute session