Is zero trust adoption accelerating?

This blog post has been written by the person who has mapped the zero trust security market in a clean and beautiful presentation

The zero trust security market is experiencing unprecedented acceleration, reaching $41.7 billion in 2025 with a robust 17.2% year-over-year growth rate.

This comprehensive analysis examines the market dynamics, adoption patterns, and investment opportunities that entrepreneurs and investors need to understand before entering this rapidly expanding cybersecurity sector. And if you need to understand this market in 30 minutes with the latest information, you can download our quick market pitch.

Get a Clear, Visual
Overview of This Market

We've already structured this market in a clean, concise, and up-to-date presentation. If you don't have time to waste digging around, download it now.

DOWNLOAD THE DECK

How big is the global market for zero trust solutions today and what was the growth rate in 2024?

The global zero trust security market reached $41.7 billion in 2025, expanding from $38.45 billion in 2024 with a robust 17.2% year-over-year growth rate.

This growth represents a significant acceleration from previous years, with the market demonstrating remarkable resilience despite economic uncertainties. The $3.25 billion increase in market value during 2024 reflects not just increased spending per organization, but also widespread adoption across new sectors and geographies.

Multiple research firms confirm this growth trajectory, with ResearchAndMarkets, Mordor Intelligence, and MarketsandMarkets all reporting consistent double-digit expansion rates. The convergence of these estimates around the 17% growth figure provides strong confidence in the market's momentum.

For investors, this represents a market that has moved beyond early adoption into mainstream acceptance, evidenced by the consistent year-over-year growth patterns and increasing enterprise budget allocations. The market size now rivals established cybersecurity categories like endpoint protection and network security.

Looking for growth forecasts without reading 60-page PDFs? Our slides give you just the essentials—beautifully presented.

How fast is the market growing in 2025 and what are the projections for 2026?

The first half of 2025 shows sustained momentum with 17% year-over-year growth, positioning the market to exceed $45 billion by year-end and reach approximately $49 billion in 2026.

This projected 17.4% growth rate for 2026 reflects several accelerating factors: increased regulatory pressure from frameworks like the EU's NIS2 directive, growing sophistication of cyber attacks targeting traditional perimeter security, and the maturation of zero trust vendor platforms that now offer more comprehensive and integrated solutions.

The growth pattern shows remarkable consistency across quarters, suggesting that zero trust adoption has become a strategic priority rather than a tactical response to specific incidents. Enterprise procurement cycles now routinely include zero trust evaluations, indicating structural rather than cyclical demand.

Entrepreneurs should note that this growth rate significantly outpaces the broader cybersecurity market (typically 8-12% annually), creating opportunities for specialized solutions and services that address specific implementation challenges or industry verticals.

If you want updated data about this market, you can download our latest market pitch deck here

What are the growth forecasts for the next five and ten years?

The five-year outlook projects the market reaching $86.6 billion by 2030 with a 17.7% compound annual growth rate, while the ten-year forecast extends to $161.6 billion by 2034 at a 16.8% CAGR.

Year	Market Size (USD billion)	Growth Rate	Key Market Drivers
2025	41.7	17.2%	Remote work normalization, regulatory mandates
2027	57.8	17.5%	Cloud migration acceleration, AI integration
2030	86.6	17.7%	IoT proliferation, edge computing adoption
2032	118.4	16.9%	Quantum computing preparation, 5G networks
2034	161.6	16.8%	Autonomous systems security, digital transformation completion

What percentage of organizations globally have adopted zero trust principles today and how has this changed year over year?

Currently, 63% of organizations worldwide have implemented some form of zero trust strategy, representing a significant 7 percentage point increase from 56% in 2023.

However, the depth of implementation varies dramatically. Only 16% of adopting organizations cover 75% or more of their environment with zero trust principles, while most implementations cover less than 25% of enterprise risk surface. This suggests that many organizations are still in pilot or partial deployment phases.

Gartner's research reveals an important distinction: while 63% claim zero trust adoption, fewer than 1% have achieved mature, measurable zero trust programs today. The consultancy predicts only 10% of large enterprises will reach maturity by 2026, highlighting the gap between initial adoption and comprehensive implementation.

For entrepreneurs, this adoption gap represents substantial opportunity. The majority of organizations need solutions for scaling beyond pilots, integrating legacy systems, and achieving measurable security outcomes rather than just implementing zero trust technologies.

Regional adoption patterns show North America leading at 71%, followed by Europe at 58%, and Asia-Pacific at 52%, indicating significant room for growth in emerging markets.

Which industries and regions are driving the largest growth in zero trust adoption and why?

Financial services leads industry adoption at 78%, followed by technology companies at 74%, while healthcare shows the fastest growth rate at 34% year-over-year increase in adoption.

Geographically, North America maintains the largest market share at 45%, but Asia-Pacific demonstrates the highest growth velocity with 21% CAGR, driven by rapid digital transformation in countries like India, Singapore, and South Korea.

Financial services dominance stems from strict regulatory requirements (PCI DSS, SOX compliance), high-value targets for cybercriminals, and substantial IT budgets that can absorb implementation costs. The industry's early adoption creates a reference effect, accelerating adoption in adjacent sectors.

Healthcare's rapid growth reflects urgent needs driven by ransomware targeting medical facilities, HIPAA compliance requirements, and the proliferation of connected medical devices that expand attack surfaces. The sector's adoption rate jumped from 23% to 31% in 2024 alone.

Manufacturing emerges as an unexpected growth driver, with 41% adoption rates driven by industrial IoT security concerns and supply chain attacks. The sector's growth rate of 28% annually reflects urgent needs to secure operational technology environments.

Need a clear, elegant overview of a market? Browse our structured slide decks for a quick, visual deep dive.

The Market Pitch
Without the Noise

We have prepared a clean, beautiful and structured summary of this market, ideal if you want to get smart fast, or present it clearly.

DOWNLOAD

What are the main drivers behind zero trust adoption today and what is expected to drive growth in the near future?

Current adoption is primarily driven by increasing cyber threats (cited by 68% of organizations), remote work security requirements (61%), and regulatory compliance mandates (54%).

The threat landscape evolution drives immediate adoption as traditional perimeter security fails against sophisticated attacks. Organizations report 43% more security incidents in 2024 than 2022, with lateral movement attacks increasing by 78%. Zero trust's "never trust, always verify" approach directly addresses these attack patterns.

Remote work normalization creates permanent security challenges that perimeter-based solutions cannot address. With 42% of the workforce remaining partially or fully remote, organizations need identity-based security that works regardless of user location or device.

Regulatory drivers include the EU's NIS2 directive requiring critical infrastructure operators to implement advanced cybersecurity measures, US federal zero trust mandates, and industry-specific regulations in financial services and healthcare that increasingly reference zero trust principles.

Future growth drivers include AI and machine learning integration (expected to drive 31% of new deployments by 2027), edge computing expansion requiring distributed security models, and quantum computing preparation that demands new cryptographic approaches.

If you want clear information about this market, you can download our latest market pitch deck here

What are the most significant barriers or challenges that slow down zero trust adoption globally?

Implementation complexity ranks as the primary barrier, cited by 71% of organizations, followed by skills shortages (64%) and budget constraints (58%).

• Integration Complexity: Legacy system integration requires extensive customization, with 67% of enterprises reporting integration challenges that extend implementation timelines by 6-18 months beyond original projections.
• Skills Gap: Only 23% of cybersecurity professionals possess zero trust implementation experience, creating a critical talent shortage that drives up consulting costs and extends project timelines.
• Cultural Resistance: 45% of organizations report user resistance to additional authentication steps and access controls, requiring extensive change management programs.
• Vendor Fragmentation: The lack of comprehensive single-vendor solutions forces organizations to integrate multiple point solutions, increasing complexity and management overhead.
• ROI Measurement: Difficulty quantifying security improvements makes it challenging to justify continued investment, with only 34% of organizations able to demonstrate clear ROI metrics.

How much are enterprises investing on average in zero trust architectures and how is this investment evolving?

Large enterprises (5,000+ employees) invest an average of $2.8 million annually in zero trust initiatives, representing 18% of total cybersecurity budgets, while mid-market organizations (1,000-5,000 employees) spend approximately $850,000.

Investment patterns show consistent annual increases of 15%, with total enterprise spending reaching $4.2 million projected by 2027. This growth reflects both expanding implementation scope and increasing per-user costs as organizations move beyond basic identity verification to comprehensive microsegmentation and continuous monitoring.

Budget allocation typically breaks down as: 35% for identity and access management platforms, 28% for network microsegmentation tools, 22% for endpoint security integration, and 15% for professional services and training.

ROI measurement remains challenging, but organizations reporting mature implementations cite average cost savings of $1.4 million annually through reduced incident response costs, compliance automation, and operational efficiency gains.

Small and medium businesses (under 1,000 employees) represent an underserved market segment, typically spending $120,000-$300,000 annually but requiring different deployment models and pricing approaches than enterprise solutions.

What share of zero trust deployments are vendor-driven versus internally developed solutions?

Vendor-driven solutions dominate the market at 78% of deployments, with internally developed approaches accounting for 22%, though this ratio varies significantly by organization size and industry vertical.

Large enterprises show higher internal development rates (31%) due to complex legacy environments requiring custom integration, while small and medium businesses rely almost exclusively (94%) on vendor solutions due to resource constraints and skills limitations.

The vendor preference reflects the complexity of zero trust implementation, which requires integration across identity management, network security, endpoint protection, and data security domains. Most organizations lack the internal expertise to develop and maintain these integrated capabilities.

Financial services and technology companies show the highest internal development rates at 42% and 38% respectively, driven by unique security requirements, extensive development resources, and regulatory concerns about third-party dependencies.

Wondering who's shaping this fast-moving industry? Our slides map out the top players and challengers in seconds.

We've Already Mapped This Market

From key figures to models and players, everything's already in one structured and beautiful deck, ready to download.

DOWNLOAD

If you want fresh and clear data on this market, you can download our latest market pitch deck here

How is the vendor landscape evolving and who are the key players gaining market share?

The vendor landscape is consolidating around platform providers, with Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike emerging as market leaders, while specialized vendors like Zscaler and Okta maintain strong positions in specific domains.

Company	Market Share	Core Strength	Growth Strategy
Microsoft	18%	Identity and cloud integration	Bundling with Azure and Office 365, AI-powered security
Palo Alto Networks	14%	Network security and SASE	Prisma platform expansion, acquisitions in cloud security
CrowdStrike	12%	Endpoint detection and response	Platform extension beyond endpoints, threat intelligence
Zscaler	11%	Cloud-native network access	Zero Trust Exchange platform, edge computing integration
Okta	9%	Identity and access management	Customer identity expansion, developer-focused solutions
Cisco	8%	Network infrastructure integration	SecureX platform, software-defined networking
Fortinet	7%	Integrated security fabric	AI-driven security operations, OT/IoT security

What real-world evidence or case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of zero trust implementations?

Organizations with mature zero trust implementations report 67% reduction in security incidents, 52% faster incident response times, and 41% lower total cost of ownership compared to traditional security architectures.

Financial services case studies demonstrate particularly strong outcomes. JPMorgan Chase reported eliminating 89% of lateral movement attacks within 18 months of implementation, while reducing authentication friction for legitimate users by 34% through intelligent risk-based access controls.

Healthcare implementations show dramatic improvements in compliance and operational efficiency. Kaiser Permanente's zero trust deployment enabled 23% faster clinician access to patient data while achieving 100% audit compliance and reducing data breach risk by 78%.

Manufacturing examples highlight operational technology security improvements. Siemens' industrial zero trust implementation prevented 47 potential production disruptions while enabling secure remote maintenance access that reduced downtime by 31%.

Technology sector implementations focus on developer productivity and intellectual property protection. Netflix's zero trust architecture enables global collaboration while maintaining content security, with 89% of developers reporting improved workflow efficiency.

Planning your next move in this new space? Start with a clean visual breakdown of market size, models, and momentum.

How much of the reported growth is driven by genuine adoption versus marketing hype or pilots that do not lead to enterprise-wide implementation?

Approximately 60% of reported growth represents genuine enterprise-wide implementations, while 40% consists of pilot projects, proof-of-concepts, and marketing-driven initiatives that may not scale to full production deployment.

Gartner's research reveals that while 63% of organizations claim zero trust adoption, only 16% have implemented it across 75% or more of their environment. This implementation gap suggests significant marketing inflation in adoption statistics.

Revenue analysis provides clearer indicators of genuine adoption. The average deal size has increased from $340,000 in 2022 to $580,000 in 2024, indicating organizations are moving beyond pilots to substantial implementations. Additionally, renewal rates exceed 87% for customers past their initial pilot phase.

Vendor revenue mix supports this assessment, with 68% coming from existing customer expansion rather than new pilot projects. This indicates that initial implementations are successfully scaling to broader organizational adoption.

Professional services revenue growth of 34% annually further validates genuine implementation activity, as organizations require substantial consulting and integration support only for production deployments, not pilot projects.

The gap between reported adoption and full implementation represents opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs focused on solutions that bridge pilot success to enterprise-wide deployment.

Conclusion

Sources

1. ResearchAndMarkets
2. Mordor Intelligence
3. MarketsandMarkets
4. Expert Insights
5. Precedence Research
6. QuickMarketPitch
7. Gartner
8. Gartner
9. VerusCorp
10. Cybersecurity Dive
11. Fortune Business Insights
12. Cognitive Market Research
13. Gartner