Workplace Identity And Access Management (IAM) Buyers' Guide 2024

State of the market: Workplace IAM solutions combat identity-related breaches by enabling IT teams to verify that users are who they claim to be, as well as manage access permissions for authenticated users once they’ve signed in.

The identity and access management market was valued at over USD 12 billion in 2022 and is expected to exhibit 15% CAGR between 2023 and 2032, reaching a market value of USD 45 billion.
Growth has been driven largely by the increase in both number and sophistication of identity-related cyberthreats.
- Phishing and the use of stolen credentials are the two most prevalent attack vectors used by threat actors to infiltrate an organization
- 74% of all breaches include the human element, either in the form of privilege misuse, stolen credentials, social engineering, or human error (note: three of those four methods directly involve users’ identities)
Increasing requirements for compliance management, the need for remote/hybrid workforce management, and an increase in the adoption of cloud computing services are also contributing to IAM market growth.

In this guide, we’ll give you our top recommendations on choosing the right workplace IAM provider. We’ll also cover what features to look for in an IAM tool, the benefits and challenges of implementing one, and the future trends that you should keep tabs on within the identity space.

Our Recommendations: Before we get into the details of workplace IAM, there are a few things you should bear in mind that’ll help you choose the right solution for your business:

For large enterprises: Choose a solution that scales easily, supports multiple authentication methods (preferably FIDO-approved!), and offers comprehensive integration capabilities so it can handle lots of users and applications.
For security-focused organizations: Make sure the tool provides adaptive multi-factor authentication, role-based access control, and detailed audit logs.
For compliance-focused organizations: Look for a solution that provides comprehensive reporting and user lifecycle management.
For improving user experience: Security is important; if it weren’t you, wouldn’t be researching IAM tools. But if your IAM tool isn’t intuitive, then a) your security team won’t be able to manage it properly and b) it’ll reduce the productivity of your end users. So, find a tool that offers an intuitive management interface and robust support options for your security team, and Single Sign-On (SSO), self-service password management, and support for multiple authentication methods for your end users.

How IAM Works: IAM tools can be deployed in on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. Once deployed, they combine multiple identity security and access security tools to enable IT teams to manage end user authentication and authorization processes.

To achieve this, workplace IAM tools typically follow the same workflow.

First, the user is authenticated, i.e., the platform verifies their identity. Typically, IAM tools use multi-factor authentication (MFA) technology to do this. MFA requires that the user verify their identity in two or more ways—e.g., using a password and a fingerprint scan or code generated by an authenticator app—before they’re granted access.

Some IAM platforms incorporate other technologies at this stage to further enhance security and streamline the login process for end users. These may include:

Single Sign-On (SSO), which requires the user to authenticate once, then gives them access to multiple applications without them having to re-enter their credentials
Adaptive or risk-based authentication, which adjusts the level of authentication required based on contextual risk factors surrounding each login, such as the user’s location or device type

Once the user is authenticated, they’re granted access to the specific applications they need to do their job. IAM tools typically use Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC) to achieve this, but some also include Privileged Access Management (PAM) as an extra layer of protection for particularly sensitive or critical applications.

Benefits of IAM: There are four key use cases when it comes to workplace IAM: security, user management, user experience, and compliance.

One of the most common uses of IAM solutions is to prevent identity-related breaches that can cause your company to lose money or data to a cybercriminal that’s impersonating one of your employees.

By authenticating users, you can lower the risk of account compromise
By managing their access to corporate resources using RBAC, you can limit the amount of company data a threat actor can steal if they do gain access to a user’s account

IAM can also streamline user management.

By enabling you to create and enforce access and privilege controls, and IAM system makes it easier for you to ensure users have access to the resources they need to do their jobs, without giving them access to sensitive data they don’t need.
IAM also makes provisioning and deprovisioning easier, as all user rights are managed via a single interface.

When it comes to end user experience, IAM tools often include single sign-on, which allows authenticated users to access multiple applications without having to re-enter their credentials. This makes it easier to switch between apps and services and can help improve password strength across your business as users only have to remember one password.

Finally, IAM solutions can help you meet compliance standards.

For example, HIPPA requires organizations that handle Protected Health Information (PHI) to implement secure electronic access to health data. IAM solutions enable you not only to meet that requirement, but also to prove it through current and historical reports.

Common IAM Challenges: While we recommend that every organization implement some form of identity and access management, there are some challenges to be aware of before you invest in a workplace IAM solution:

Complexity: It can take a considerable amount of time to deploy an IAM tool because you need to integrate it with all your existing applications. Once deployed, you need to integrate the tool with any new apps that are added to your environment, manage access requests, and handle permission errors—which are a common problem with IAM. We recommend looking for a tool that integrates natively with the apps you’re already using, leveraging the support of your IAM provider to set up the solution correctly, and keeping on top of integrating new applications. If you’re a large enterprise, you may wish to create a job role that focuses solely on managing your IAM platform.
“Least privilege”: The principle of least privilege states that authorized users should only be granted access to business systems in the moment they need it, and only for as long as they need it to do their job; i.e., once the task is complete, elevated privileges should be revoked. Some IT teams may misunderstand the requirement of a user’s role and grant them more access than they need, which can lead to security risks. To mitigate this, we recommend configuring users by group rather than at an individual level, and continuously reviewing user groups to ensure that only the required permissions are granted.
Cost: Finally, like most cybersecurity solutions, IAM tools can be expensive. We recommend deciding on a budget for purchasing and maintaining an IAM tool, then asking providers about their different packages and pricing to find one that caters to your needs while still meeting your budget.

Best Workplace IAM Providers: Our team of cybersecurity analysts has put together a shortlist of the best providers of IAM solutions designed for the workplace, as well as adjacent lists covering similar topics:

Features Checklist: When comparing workplace IAM solutions, Expert Insights recommends looking for the following features:

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): You should be able to assign access rights based on each user’s role within your organization.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Look for a solution that supports multiple authentication methods (e.g., password, hardware tokens, authenticator app, biometrics). Giving users the choice of what method they use will hugely help adoption. You may also wish to consider a tool that offers adaptive authentication, allowing you to “step up” authentication for more risky/suspicious logins, reducing friction for users with “normal” login activity.
Single Sign-On (SSO): To further streamline the login experience for your end users, look for an IAM tool that offers SSO. This allows users to log in once and access multiple applications.
Integration with directory: A native integration with your user directory—be it Active Directory, Azure, or otherwise—will make it much easier for you to configure your IAM tool.
Customer support/documentation: Look for a provider that offers strong support options in the event you have any trouble configuring or managing the solution.
Reporting/logs: Strong reporting features are particularly important if you need to meet regulatory requirements and generate compliance reports.
Automated provisioning: You should be able to automate the process of creating and deleting user accounts. This will save you a lot of time when adding or removing users.

Future Trends: “Identity is one of those unique things where I can honestly look you in the face and say it hasn’t changed at all,” Jim Taylor, Chief Product Officer at RSA, tells Expert Insights. “The problem we are trying to solve is still the same problem. Go back a thousand years—if you’re a knight on a horse, riding up to a castle, they’ll make you lift up your visor so they can see who you are. That’s identity.”

While the need for identity security may not have changed, the ways in which we implement it certainly have. You can’t ask your remote users to come into the office for you to look at their face every time they want to log into a new application. To keep up with the continued adoption of cloud technologies and the increasing sophistication of identity-related attacks, there are four key evolutions that we expect to see in the identity space in the near future:

Passwordless authentication: As we see more examples of threat actors bypassing traditional methods of MFA, will see growing adoption of non-phishable, FIDO-approved authentication methods, such as biometrics (facial recognition, fingerprint scans, and retina scans) and hardware tokens, to improve both security and user experience.
Zero Trust architecture: “Zero Trust” is a cybersecurity approach that emphasizes strong access controls and continuous verification. While some consider Zero Trust to be a bit of a buzzword, its core principles help remove implicit trust in your security configuration, ensuring that only authenticated and authorized users can access company data. As such, we expect to see a continued adoption of Zero Trust architectures.
AI and machine learning: AI and ML have been around for a long time in the cyber space, but we expect the IAM market to utilize more recent advances in GenAI specifically to analyze user behaviors, detect suspicious activity, and detect identity-related threats (such as password cracking attempts and compromised accounts) in real-time. This will bring IAM a step closer to ITDR (Identity Threat Detection and Response).

Further Reading: You can find all of our articles on workplace IAM in our Identity and Access Management Hub.

No time to browse? Here are a few articles we think you’ll like:

Shortlist: The Top 12 Identity And Access Management Solutions
Interview: Joseph Carson On The Convergence Of Authentication And Authorization
Interview: Organizations Need Stronger Authentication—Is FIDO The Answer?
Interview: Jim Taylor On Identity Threat Detection And Response, FIDO, And How AI Can Help Secure Identities
Blog: How Does Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Work?

Workplace Identity And Access Management (IAM) Buyers’ Guide 2024

How to choose the right IAM software.