How IdentityIQ is Preparing Organizations for a VUCA World

Authored by Eric Zimmerman, Product Marketing Manager

VUCA world? Yes, you read that right. VUCA: Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. It’s a concept that originated with students at the U.S. Army War College to describe the world after the Cold War. The idea was further popularized in 1987 through the leadership theories of Warren Bennis and Burt Nanu. They used it to frame future leaders’ instability and turbulence in complex organizations. Today, VUCA is a concept that remains more relevant than ever, especially for executive leaders and large enterprises looking to ensure security in an increasingly uncertain world.

Organizations have continuously operated in a world of increasing volatility, uncertainty, ambiguity, and complexity – even before the term VUCA came to life. Yet one of the significant differences between today and when the phrase was first coined in 1987 is the growth of a digital-first, fully interconnected world brought together through the internet.

How much has this interconnected world grown? For just one data point, in 1987, the number of connected networks was roughly 30,000 – including the DOE, DOD, and NASA. By 2025, more than 30 billion devices are expected to be connected to the internet worldwide. Talk about the complexity of exponential growth! And that’s only part of the equation.

For large, complex enterprises operating globally, the digital revolution introduced a host of new security concerns that require a comprehensive approach to security for both employees and the many other types of identities inside an organization. This includes challenges such as securing a distributed workforce, preempting unknown identity security threats in a SaaS-based world and balancing the need for increased productivity and collaboration while enforcing access policies that minimize risk to the business.

Managing Complexity with IdentityIQ

In today’s VUCA world, organizations continue to experience a move towards operations anywhere – on any device – as work from home becomes the new normal. They also see accelerating digital transformation, an influx of new hires, and far-reaching industry growth and consolidation. These shifts have been compounded by the evolution in IT environments, highlighting the need for an identity security solution that goes to the core to provide a complete, singular view and control of all identities across the entire organization – both in the cloud and in self-hosted environments.

Responding to these market dynamics and looking ahead, the latest version of IdentityIQ continues to deliver on the core of identity security by empowering large organizations and distributed teams with the intelligence, automation, and integration they need to provide world-class identity security programs.

From building and efficiently managing time-saving role programs to leveraging data insights and AI recommendations, the newest release ensures that everyone in the organization has the essential access and information they need to achieve comprehensive identity security.

Interested in learning more about IdentityIQ 8.3? Check out our on-demand webinar and learn about the new features and functionality in IdentityIQ.