Enhancing Identity and Access Management (IAM) Strategies—Lessons from the Experts at Gartner

A recent Gartner survey found that organizations are increasingly recognizing the significance of identity and access management (IAM) solutions in achieving not just security and compliance, but overall business objectives. This has (rightfully) led to more involvement of IAM leaders in strategic decision-making processes. That’s the good news.
‍

Less exciting: Only 19% of organizations prefer their existing IAM vendor investments. Sadly, this is not surprising, given that most businesses are opting for disparate tools from multiple vendors. This poses integration, onboarding, and a slew of other challenges making it hard to maximize IAM programs.
‍

So, how did we get here? For half of the organizations surveyed, a key challenge identified is the lack of skilled personnel and adequate funding for new IAM projects or modernization efforts. To address this, Gartner advises leaders to emphasize not only IT metrics, but also business benefits to showcase how IAM products enable larger strategic goals.
‍

How do we do this? Counter to what often happens in the software industry, the solution is not buying more best-of-breed solutions or a million different connectors to cobble it all together. It’s an identity-first security strategy. This approach involves security design that makes identity-based controls the foundational element of an organization’s protection, detection, and response protocols.
‍

Unlike traditional-perimeter-based controls, an identity-first security architecture puts identity at the core of an organization’s cybersecurity strategy, and thus, business strategy. What’s also at the core of modern business? A business platform. You can probably see where we’re going here…
‍

Gartner recommends product leaders invest in simpler interoperability solutions and collaborate with integration partners to address skill shortages and deliver value to customers. The best way to achieve both is to run your IGA program on your existing business platform. At Clear Skye, we do just that on ServiceNow.
‍

A platform approach enables you to not only get the most value from your existing tech investment, but also provides you with the added support and expertise of your platform team. Aligning IGA with other business functions, like HR, GRC, risk/compliance, and security enables you to get a more holistic view of your entire business, making your identity program more comprehensive and effective. The best part is, this is a lower cost, higher impact, quicker deployment option, given your team is already familiar with the processes and user experience of your existing platform.
‍

To sum it up, business leaders must adapt to evolving market trends, focusing on simplicity, interoperability, and alignment with business goals to run successful, value-driven IAM programs. A platform approach is your one-way ticket to identity-first security. You can learn more about how Clear Skye can help here.

Click here to read the entire Gartner report, “Emerging Tech: Identity-First Security — Position Products to Evolving IAM Goals.”