Identity Fabrics

Identity Fabrics describe an enterprise IAM paradigm: a comprehensive, loosely coupled set of identity services that enables seamless but controlled access for everyone to every service, across employees, partners, consumers, devices, and services. Rather than being a single product, an Identity Fabric is an architectural approach that typically combines one or two strong core platforms (covering IGA and Access Management) with complementary components, exposed through consistent, secure APIs and delivered via modern patterns such as microservices and container-based deployments.

The shift is driven by digital business becoming distributed and multi-party, with access originating from anywhere to services spanning on-premises, cloud, and mobile. Traditional “inside vs. outside” perimeters have eroded, so IAM must evolve into a consolidated portfolio of interoperating services that can connect identities and permissions across hybrid ecosystems while supporting advanced capabilities like adaptive authentication, federation, auditing, and dynamic authorization. Requirements include rapid, user-friendly onboarding (especially for consumers), BYOID, device choice, continuous verification consistent with Zero Trust, relationship-aware identity linking, cross-organization trust integration, compliance support, optimized KYC, and making identity data usable for analytics and AI.

Many current IAM environments are monolithic or siloed, making component isolation and API exposure a central challenge, especially when legacy applications and legacy IAM cannot be replaced quickly. KuppingerCole recommends a stepwise, non-disruptive transformation: define a microservices/container target architecture, progress through integrated projects, build an identity API platform, reuse and encapsulate existing components, add missing capabilities organically, and replace unsuitable parts later.

In vendor leadership, IBM and ForgeRock lead overall, followed by Broadcom, EmpowerID, Simeio, and Okta. The market shows high innovation but uneven completeness, reflecting an emerging segment where most organizations will assemble Identity Fabrics from multiple interoperable building blocks.

• Identity Fabrics are described as a paradigm rather than a single technology, tool, or cloud service.
• Minimum baseline expectations include both IGA and Access Management capabilities.
• A comprehensive set of APIs is required in addition to administrative and end-user UI/UX.
• Modern architectural paradigms emphasized include microservices and container-based deployments.
• Identity Fabrics are intended to support employees, partners, customers/consumers, devices/things, and services.
• The classic corporate security perimeter of clear “inside” and “outside” is described as having practically ceased to exist.
• IBM and ForgeRock are rated head-to-head at the same level in Overall Leadership.
• Overall Leaders listed are Broadcom, EmpowerID, ForgeRock, IBM, Okta, and Simeio.
• Market Leaders listed are IBM, ForgeRock, and Okta.
• No vendors are placed in the Follower section.

• “Identity Fabrics are not a single technology, tool, or cloud service, but a paradigm for architecting IAM within enterprises.”
• “Identity Fabric refers to a logical infrastructure for enterprise Identity and Access Management.”
• “The very idea of a company's outer boundary, the concept of a security perimeter, has practically ceased to exist.”
• “Today's IAM systems meet, if at all, only a fraction of current requirements.”
• “This transformation of your IAM infrastructure into an Identity Fabric does not need to be and is not meant to be disruptive by any means.”
• “To clarify it once again: There is no ‘standard Identity Fabric’.”
• “Proceed consistently, step by step and in an integrated manner.”
• “Offer consistent backend services and develop an identity API platform as the foundation.”
• “Reuse and encapsulate whatever and whenever you can.”
• “Choosing the right components…demands strict strategic oversight and management.”