Xona: Setting New Standards in Secure Remote Access
Xona, a leader in the secure access for critical infrastructure, has made headlines by being recognized as an Overall Leader in the latest KuppingerCole Leadership Compass for Secure Remote Access in Operational Technology and Industrial Control Systems (OT/ICS) for 2025. This acknowledgment solidifies Xona's position among the elite in the industry, showcasing their commitment to cybersecurity in some of the most sensitive operational settings.
The KuppingerCole Recognition
In the recently released report, Xona excelled in four major categories: Overall Leadership, Product Leadership, Innovation Leadership, and Market Leadership. This comprehensive recognition highlights how Xona stands out as a provider that enables secure remote access within crucial operational environments. According to Roark Pollock, the Chief Marketing Officer at Xona, this recognition is a testament to their mission of empowering those responsible for ensuring the reliability and resilience of critical infrastructure in the face of increasing cyber threats.
Also, Warwick Ashford, a Senior Analyst at KuppingerCole, noted that Xona Systems offers a robust and practical approach to achieving secure remote access for OT and ICS environments. The Xona Platform, with features including browser-based protocol isolation, rapid deployment capabilities, and an agentless design, emerges as a foremost solution for organizations that need to maintain a careful balance between security, user experience, and operational continuity.
What Makes Xona Unique?
The KuppingerCole evaluation drew attention to several unique strengths that set Xona apart in the cybersecurity landscape:
- - Disconnected Access Architecture: Xona employs a design that eliminates direct connectivity between user endpoints and critical systems through protocol-layer isolation. This design, often referred to as an "air gap by design," effectively prevents lateral movement in the event an endpoint is compromised. Unlike conventional methods such as VPNs and jump servers, this foundational layer of defense is critical against threats, including ransomware and insider attacks.
- - Rapid Deployment: The Xona Platform is engineered for quick setup, allowing organizations to deploy the system within just 30 minutes without disrupting existing network architectures. This seamless integration extends to both modern and legacy systems, ensuring parallel functionality without the need for cloud access or additional user agents, clients, or plugins.
- - Compliance-First Approach: Xona streamlines audit readiness for essential OT standards, including NERC CIP, IEC 62443, and TSA SD2. This design assists organizations in meeting OT security mandates effortlessly, allowing them to focus more on operations without compromising security or compliance.
According to the KuppingerCole report, Xona ensures secure access by acting as a proxy layer between remote users and OT assets, utilizing a browser-based protocol isolation method that negates direct endpoint-to-asset communication while eliminating the need for agents or plug-ins.
A Trusted Solution for Critical Infrastructure
Xona is now trusted in over 40 countries, deployed extensively across sectors including energy, water, transportation, defense, and manufacturing. Its clientele depend on the Xona Platform to safeguard vital systems from insecure endpoints, consolidate identity and access governance, and achieve compliance without compromising operational pace.
For those interested, a free summary of the report, encapsulating key findings regarding Xona's performance, is available for download at their official website. Full access to the KuppingerCole Leadership Compass for Secure Remote Access in OT/ICS can be found at
Xona's website.
About Xona
Xona is committed to empowering individuals and organizations protecting the critical infrastructure that communities rely on daily. With its pioneering platform for secure access, Xona aims to replace vulnerable legacy access tools such as VPNs and jump servers, providing comprehensive user access control while safeguarding critical systems from unsecured user endpoints. Xona ensures compliance with global security mandates, simplifying governance while enhancing operational security. For more information, visit
www.xonasystems.com.