Identities, computers and groups all need access to resources. But only enough to fulfill a role, and only for as long as they need it. AD Admins, IT leaders, VPs and CISOs recognize this as a foundational part of Zero Trust least privilege models – and as one of the biggest challenges for enterprises. That’s because using native tools for privilege management is complex.

There’s an unfortunate truth about applications and access in the enterprise. Many applications are underutilized. This means patches and updates can fall down the to-do list of already-stretched IT service desks. Naturally, this increases the vulnerabilities – and opportunities for attackers. Risks are compounded when many users retain access they no longer need, especially when it’s access to the most critical and sensitive resources.

Identity management acronyms aren’t anyone’s idea of a fun day out, but successfully securing identities requires carefully stitching together each of these acronyms into a comprehensive identity security solution. In this article, we discuss AM, PAM, IGA, ADM – and how a unified identity platform (UIP) can help you tie them all together. Let’s start by defining each of these acronyms.

One Identity’s suite of IAM solutions includes Active Roles, an AD (Active Directory) management tool designed to increase the security and efficiency of identity environments by consolidating all AD domains and Entra ID tenants onto a single console This ensures consistent enforcement of security policies through automation, enables identity data to be synchronized across the entire network, and reduces the number of accounts which have been erroneously granted access privileges.

There’s no way around it: program management skills are a must for any IAM leaders, lest they wish to preside over a chaotic, disorganized mess. IAM initiatives often involve complex, interconnected systems and processes – and most of all, people. Without a firm grasp of program management, leaders risk delays, overruns and a final implementation that’s more like a Frankenstein’s monster than a well-running solution.

The adoption of cloud services and the shift to remote work have rapidly expanded the attack surface. In many ways, identities are arguably now at the frontier of cybersecurity – which means traditional identity and access management (IAM) approaches are increasingly inadequate. Cyberattacks are also growing in sophistication, in part through exploiting vulnerabilities in the traditional, fragmented IAM systems that many companies are still using.

Active Directory (AD) is the most prolific identity platform in the world. Like many companies already using AD on-premises, you may now be considering extending your identity environment to the cloud to create a hybrid landscape. There are many reasons behind this: resource constraints, strategy evolution, merger, acquisition or otherwise.

We all know identity management and security are critical to hardening cybersecurity ecosystems. We also know that we can make it happen using the many features and functions across Active Directory (AD), Entra ID and Microsoft 365. The challenge is making sure these are deployed in a way that allows them to work seamlessly together, staying aligned even in environments where there’s fluidity and decentralization.