Trends in Identity and Access Management (IAM): Cloud-driven Identities

The broad adoption of public cloud services demands a retooling of identity and access management (IAM) programs. To protect sensitive cloud-resident data, cybersecurity and IT operations teams need to work with their line-of-business teams on strengthening identity programs with both the user experience and risk in mind.

In order to gain insight into these trends, ESG surveyed hundreds of IT and cybersecurity professionals across the US and Canada who are responsible for evaluating or purchasing IAM  and cloud security technology products and services. This research aimed to understand the problem space, organizational responsibilities, compliance implications, and plans for securing user access to a wide portfolio of cloud services. The study also looks at the current and planned use of various auth methods, privileged access management, device profiling, unified directories, and user activity analytics.