Identity Fabrics

The Leadership Compass report evaluates various Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions that serve as foundational components for creating Identity Fabrics. Identity Fabrics represent a comprehensive, integrated set of Identity Services essential for providing seamless and controlled access to services for various types of identities such as employees, partners, consumers, or devices. These services, which may be delivered through multiple tools and services, are not tied to specific technologies but are built on the paradigm of seamless IAM within enterprises, focusing on capabilities like Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) and Access Management.

Key findings highlight the rapid evolution of the Identity Fabrics market, growing maturity, and significant innovation. However, most vendors rarely support all major IAM areas, necessitating the combination of offerings from multiple vendors. Modern architectures and API support are critical, but not yet ubiquitous. Deployment models vary greatly, ranging from multi-tenant public clouds to on-premises and private clouds. This analysis identifies Broadcom, ForgeRock, IBM, Microsoft, Okta, and One Identity as overall leaders based on comprehensive evaluations of product features, architecture, innovation, and market presence.

The IAM market has grown complex, with modern digital businesses requiring scalable and flexible IAM solutions to manage diverse and dispersed identities, including people, devices, and services. Identity Fabrics need robust features such as adaptive authentication, dynamic authorization, and Zero Trust principles. They must also support regulatory compliance and provide seamless integration with existing and modern applications.

Various deployment models, including IDaaS, multi-tenant, single-tenant public clouds, and private clouds, must be flexible, scalable, and meet diverse customer requirements. Essential capabilities include robust IGA functionalities, Identity Federation, Web Access Management, and API-based access. The Leadership Compass aims to guide customers in selecting vendors with comprehensive IAM capabilities, stressing the importance of integrating multiple products for an efficient and modern identity management infrastructure.

• Microsoft and its Azure Active Directory ecosystem lead the market.
• Vendors like Broadcom, ForgeRock, IBM, Okta, and One Identity provide the best IAM capabilities in the market.
• The market maturity for Identity Fabrics is still emerging, with significant innovation underway.
• Different vendors show varied strengths: Ping Identity in Access Management, SailPoint, and Saviynt in IGA.
• Hybrid IT environments are becoming the new standard, necessitating robust IAM solutions.
• Many vendors are still modernizing their IAM platforms with microservices and container-based deployments.
• Comprehensive set of APIs is increasingly important but not yet fully implemented by all vendors.
• Some specialized vendors provide sophisticated capabilities in areas like policy-based access and identity data integration.
• IAM capabilities must span across different identity types, including non-human entities like devices and services.
• Identity Fabrics are essential for seamless access across various locations and diverse IT infrastructure.

• "Identity Fabrics support various types of identities such as employees, partners, consumers, or things."
• "IAM must be transformed into a consolidated portfolio of isolated but corresponding services."
• "Zero Trust such as continuously verifying access must be part of the capabilities."
• "To make this possible, IAM needs to be converted into a comprehensive architecture."
• "Modern IAM must enable secure, scalable, and controlled access for all users to every service."
• "Deployment models vary significantly, ranging from multi-tenant public cloud deployments to single-tenant private clouds."
• "Identity Fabrics combine current IAM concepts with modern strategies like microservices and APIs."
• "Overall leaders in the market segment are Broadcom, EmpowerID, ForgeRock, IBM, Microsoft, Okta, One Identity, Oracle, SecurID (RSA), and Simeio."
• "Customers must carefully analyze flexibility in deployment but also flexibility for customizations."
• "Traditional IAM systems meet, if at all, only a fraction of current requirements."