Bending the value curve with identity security

Warren Buffett famously said, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." Enterprise leaders today are focused more than ever on value, constantly pressured to demonstrate real business results and tangible ROI on their investments.

One investment that has proven a strategic imperative for enterprise organizations is identity security. As a fundamental pillar that is core to business security, identity security not only protects access to critical data, systems, and applications but also drives measurable business outcomes. Yet for many, the challenge lies in effectively showcasing its value back to the organization. And for that, we’re here to help.

Bending the value curve

Spending on cybersecurity, like many other investments, typically delivers linear returns. However, recent Horizons of Identity Security research reveals that investing in identity security maturity delivers outsized returns. Our 2024 survey of cybersecurity and IAM decision-makers shows that every dollar invested in identity security maturity delivers disproportionately higher returns, “bending” the identity security-to-value curve exponentially.

Organizations who invested to mature their identity program, specifically those reaching Horizons 3 and 4 maturities, reap compounding benefits from increasingly mature identity ecosystems. These higher returns are observed through:

• Greater risk reduction
• Higher topline business value
• Increased workforce productivity
• New value pools, such as enhanced capability coverage and data analytics
• Expanded automation
• Lower cyber insurance premiums
• Improved compliance

Higher returns can lead to real revenue impact; build the trust of customers, employees, and other stakeholders; and yield lasting competitive advantages. This should drive a major shift in the way organizations think about investing in cybersecurity capabilities—and suggests that investments in IAM may deliver more value than investments in other cyber capabilities.

Uncovering additional business value from identity security maturity

When it comes to identity security, the case for investment is strong. Additional findings from our survey reveal that Horizon 3 and 4 organizations scale identity coverage and capabilities without growing their IAM workforces. They do this by automating identity processes, improving efficiency with advanced IAM solutions, and shifting from helpdesk to engineering-led support models.

Furthermore, organizations with advanced identity security capabilities can also drive topline revenue impact by accelerating product time to market – all while reducing friction for end users. In our survey, IT leaders indicated that advanced identity security capabilities accelerated their digital transformations, enabling faster development cycles and speed to market – leading to increased revenue.

Moreover, we found that organizations in Horizon 4 are significantly more adept at using identity data, such as AI-driven access controls and user behavior analysis, to create actionable intelligence and unlock additional value from their identity security investments.

While advancing identity security requires focused resources — time, money, talent, and the attention of senior leaders — the costs of inaction can be far higher:

• Gaps in identity security can slow digital transformations and cloud migrations, complicate mergers and divestitures, stifle innovation, and attract bad actors
• One negative identity experience can mean losing a customer forever
• A major breach can have catastrophic financial and reputational consequences

Organizations that harness the power of identity can overcome these challenges and deliver higher returns. Our unified approach to identity — that provides unmatched visibility, comprehensive coverage, at enterprise scale — helps organizations reduce risk, enhance business value, and drive substantial improvements in business productivity.

Driving customer success

Around the world and across industries, leading organizations are now investing in identity security to bend the curve, delivering outsized returns in compliance, operational efficiency, user productivity, and security.

Reduced cyber risk: Currys, a leading UK tech retailer, reduced cyber risk by more than two-thirds by setting appropriate privileges for about 6,000 accounts and automating identity security and governance.

Higher business value: Absa, a major pan-African financial institution, reduced costs and improved outcomes by implementing an AI-based risk management tool, saving $300 per identity onboarded.

Productivity: BNP Paribas Bank Polska, a prominent international bank, improved productivity by automating manual IAM tasks, including 90% of all access requests.

At SailPoint, we’re focused on providing robust identity security solutions that also drive consequential value for the investment. Modern, unified identity security is more than just about managing access; it’s about setting organizations up for future success by steering them towards a future where they don’t just get by but genuinely excel.

As our 2024-2025 Horizons study makes clear, organizations can use these forward-thinking capabilities to set their identity security strategy, which in turn guides innovative initiatives, improving identity security outcomes, and creating value for customers, employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders.

Read the full report for more information on the Horizons of Identity Security and get next step recommendations on advancing your identity program today.