Topic starter
08/06/2026 4:34 pm
TL;DR: Passwordless authentication reduces password dependence, but credentials management remains the bottleneck when identities are spread across systems, IT expertise is thin, and offboarding is slow, according to Axiad. The real problem is not the login method alone, but whether IAM can consolidate renewal, recovery, and deprovisioning across users, machines, and devices.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Axiad: “Moving to Passwordless Authentication, Part 2”.
By the numbers:
- Employees frequently have more than 190 different passwords to log into the applications and systems they use every day.
- 10% or more of employees can access their former employer’s data after leaving.
Key questions
Q: What fails when passwordless authentication is added to a fragmented IAM estate?
A: Credential management fails first.
Q: Why does passwordless authentication still create offboarding risk?
A: Because the risk sits in the lifecycle, not the password.
Q: What are the biggest operational mistakes teams make with passwordless migration?
A: The most common mistake is treating passwordless as a login project instead of a credential governance project.
Practitioner guidance
- Consolidate credential governance across platforms Map where users, machines, and devices authenticate today, then reduce duplicated issuance and renewal paths so one policy model governs the full identity estate.
- Build offboarding into the credential lifecycle Tie deprovisioning to HR departure signals, platform inventory, and explicit confirmation that credentials were removed everywhere they existed.
- Standardise recovery and renewal flows Make credential renewal, reset, and replacement follow the same control pattern across systems so end users are not forced into inconsistent local processes.
Bottom line: Passwordless authentication does not eliminate identity governance work, because renewal, recovery, and revocation still define the real control surface.
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This topic was modified 4 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group
08/06/2026 6:17 pm
Passwordless does not remove the credential lifecycle burden: It changes the authentication factor, not the governance problem. When credentials remain spread across multiple IAM platforms, renewal, recovery, and revocation become harder to manage, not easier. That means passwordless can reduce password dependency while still leaving identity sprawl intact, which is the part practitioners actually need to govern.
A few things that frame the scale:
- eBay's passkey data shows 55-60% of passkey adoption happens on mobile, against around 20% on desktop.
A question worth separating out:
Q: Should organisations prioritise passwordless adoption or credential consolidation first?
A: Credential consolidation should come first when identities are already spread across several IAM systems. Passwordless reduces dependence on passwords, but it cannot remove the administrative burden of fragmented renewal, recovery, and offboarding. A single governance model makes the passwordless transition safer and easier to support at scale.
👉 Read our full editorial: Passwordless authentication still fails on credential sprawl
This post was modified 4 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group