Array ZTAG Series Zero Trust vs Bowtie Zero Trust Network Access: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

Array ZTAG Series Zero Trust

Mid-market and enterprise teams enforcing identity-first network access will benefit most from Array ZTAG Series Zero Trust because Single Packet Authorization eliminates the attack surface of traditional VPNs, requiring zero network visibility before authentication. The tool validates device posture, OS patches, and connection reputation continuously alongside MFA and SSO, addressing NIST PR.AA access control and PR.IR resilience in tandem. Skip this if your priority is detection and incident response rather than access prevention; ZTAG is built to shrink the perimeter, not hunt what gets inside it.

Bowtie Zero Trust Network Access

Security teams managing distributed workforces across multiple cloud regions should prioritize Bowtie Zero Trust Network Access for its refusal to backhaul traffic through centralized gateways, which eliminates the bottleneck that tanks performance in traditional ZTNA deployments. The distributed control plane runs entirely on your infrastructure, not Bowtie's, and WireGuard encryption keeps private keys out of vendor hands, addressing the NIST PR.AA identity and access control requirement without trust dependency. This isn't for buyers seeking integrated secure web gateway capabilities from a single vendor; Bowtie's on-device SWG component is functional but plays second fiddle to its network access core.