The Identity Lightbulb Moment

One of the things I run into a lot when talking with customers and prospects is this notion that identity governance is a project, a point-in-time initiative that fits in between a whole host of other IT priorities meant to support and match the velocity of the business.

But let me be clear: identity governance is not and should not be considered a project. It’s a business essential. It’s an ongoing, and highly foundational, element of securing today’s digital business.

That’s the disconnect we’re often bridging for companies today. It’s something I like to call the ‘identity lightbulb moment.’ That moment when a customer, or future customer, realizes the immediate and ongoing impact identity can have on their business. That lightbulb moment looks like this: They understand that identity, when properly embraced as foundational to the business, can speed and secure the business. The other option is to take a good enough check-the-box approach to identity that leaves the business highly susceptible to risk.

Which business do you want to be?

Look, I get it. There is a lot to consider today when it comes to developing a truly world-class identity and access management program. Your business can have upwards of thousands to tens of thousands of employees, all with varying degrees of entitlements and access needs, and a lot of moving around as folks join, move and eventually leave the business. All of that needs to be properly managed and aligned to corporate policy no matter how dynamic your business is. We work incredibly hard to help each of our customers to level-up their identity programs, ensuring that it’s both comprehensive and streamlined (and ultimately, autonomous).

Historically, getting to that point hasn’t happened overnight. But it can if the business is ready to embrace identity as core to the business, not a project with a distinct start and end date. This is when that lightbulb goes off and our customers are ready to roll, going all-in on weaving identity into the fabric of their business. At that point, it’s all about helping them to make identity invisible to the user – they have the access they need to the tools and technologies that are core to their role, without hindrance. Meanwhile, IT can easily certify that access, proving without a shadow of a doubt that every single worker in the business has the right access, no more, no less. All of this then translates to business value – security and risk mitigation that enables the business to run full steam ahead, securely and confidently.

Today, we’re continuing to see identity governance rise to the top as a C-suite conversation and investment priority where the focus is on business value, outcomes and impacts like the ones I just described. Governance becomes part of that conversation, but as the forcing function or means to an end – ‘the end’ or ultimate goal being identity security and risk mitigation. This is critical for businesses today to recognize, particularly as so many have work to do to truly secure their business. A business that is far more virtualized and remote than ever before (and likely here to stay). When framed in this way, the identity lightbulb moment happens immediately. Eureka.