Bowtie Zero Trust Network Access vs Cognitas CrossLink ZTNA: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

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.

Cognitas CrossLink ZTNA

SMB and mid-market teams replacing VPNs should pick Cognitas CrossLink ZTNA for its zero-touch deployment, which cuts the implementation friction that kills most ZTNA rollouts. ML-driven access policies and support for legacy applications mean you're not ripping out infrastructure to get zero trust working, just redirecting traffic through identity controls. Skip this if you need deep API-first architecture; CrossLink prioritizes ease of deployment over the policy granularity that enterprise security teams with mature identity programs demand.