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10/06/2026 12:14 am
TL;DR: IT process automation tools reduce manual work across workflows, but the source article is a broad tooling roundup rather than a governance comparison, so the real question is how automated task execution changes identity control, access scope, and auditability across service accounts and workload identities. The governance problem is not automation itself, but the assumptions it creates about review, privilege, and accountability.
NHIMG editorial — based on content published by Zluri: Automation Top 14 IT Process Automation Tools To Try In 2026
Questions worth separating out
Q: How should security teams govern IT process automation tools?
A: Security teams should govern IT process automation tools by treating every connector, token, and service account as an NHI with an owner, purpose, and expiry.
Q: Why do automation platforms create hidden identity risk?
A: Automation platforms create hidden identity risk because they concentrate delegated access behind workflows that appear operational, not privileged.
Q: What breaks when automation credentials are shared across workflows?
A: When automation credentials are shared across workflows, revocation becomes blunt, ownership becomes unclear, and compromise spreads further than intended.
Practitioner guidance
- Map each workflow to a distinct non-human identity Inventory every automation connector, service account, token, and certificate used by IT process automation tools.
- Split orchestration permissions from change permissions Do not let the same account schedule jobs, approve change, and modify production systems.
- Require identity-level audit trails Capture which credential initiated each task, which system it accessed, and which owner approved the access.
What's in the full article
Zluri's full blog covers the tool-by-tool roundup and product-specific features this post intentionally leaves aside:
- Detailed feature lists for each of the 14 automation tools, including where the vendor positions workflow, RPA, and orchestration capabilities
- The article's product selection framing, which is useful if you are comparing automation platforms rather than building identity controls
- Implementation-oriented product descriptions that help operational teams understand what each tool claims to automate
- The original conclusion and buying context for organisations evaluating automation software in 2026
👉 Read Zluri's roundup of 2026 IT process automation tools and features →
IT process automation tools: what IAM teams should watch for?
Explore further
10/06/2026 9:29 pm
Automation platforms are identity systems in disguise. Their operational value comes from delegated access, but delegated access is still identity governance. Once a workflow can create, modify, or revoke IT state, the security question shifts from task completion to credential lifecycle, ownership, and privilege scope. Practitioners should treat every automation connector as an NHI that needs the same governance discipline as any other machine identity.
A few things that frame the scale:
- The average organisation believes more than 1 in 5 of their non-human identities are insufficiently secured, according to The 2024 ESG Report: Managing Non-Human Identities.
- Enterprises that have experienced a compromised NHI averaged 2.7 separate incidents in the past 12 months, which shows how quickly one identity failure can repeat.
A question worth separating out:
Q: How do organisations decide if automation access is too broad?
A: Automation access is too broad when one identity can create, approve, and execute changes across more than one security domain. A useful test is whether the account can be scoped to one workflow, one environment, and one responsibility without breaking the process.
👉 Read our full editorial: IT process automation tools expose governance gaps in identity control
