Topic starter
07/06/2026 8:18 pm
TL;DR: Identity-focused M&A in late 2025, combined with faster identity automation and AI-driven discovery, is pushing comprehensive app coverage from a future goal to an operational expectation, according to Cerby and the executives it cites. The real test is no longer whether identity matters, but whether enterprises can govern the applications they already own before coverage gaps become technical debt.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Cerby: “5 Identity trends that will define 2026 and how IAM leaders can stay ahead”.
Key questions
Q: How should teams handle applications that do not support standard identity integration?
A: Treat those applications as governance gaps, not technical edge cases.
Q: Why do disconnected applications create identity governance risk?
A: They create risk because the organisation cannot reliably see, certify, or revoke access through the same control plane used for integrated systems.
Q: What do IAM teams get wrong about AI-driven identity security?
A: They often treat AI-driven features as a tooling upgrade rather than a governance shift.
Practitioner guidance
- Audit application coverage gaps Map every application against current identity controls and flag any system outside provisioning, access review, or offboarding coverage.
- Classify disconnected apps by risk Prioritise the last mile applications, especially marketing tools, social platforms, HR portals, finance portals, and on-premise systems that sit outside standard connectors.
- Constrain AI to deterministic workflows Use AI for discovery and workflow generation, but keep permission assignment and credential handling under deterministic rules and review gates.
Bottom line: Identity consolidation is pushing enterprise teams to treat coverage as a core governance requirement rather than a future aspiration.
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This topic was modified 3 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group
07/06/2026 10:09 pm
Identity consolidation is now a governance problem, not just a market trend. The article shows that major vendors are buying identity capability because the market now expects identity to be part of the core security stack. That does not mean enterprises have solved governance; it means identity has become the control surface everyone must now cover. The practitioner conclusion is that consolidation raises expectations faster than most programmes can currently meet them.
A question worth separating out:
Q: How do organisations decide when to prioritise coverage over more point controls?
A: Prioritise coverage when the gap is that important apps or identities are still outside governance, because more point controls do not fix invisibility. If the estate itself is only partly covered, the highest-value work is to widen control reach before adding more refinement. Coverage comes first when the blind spot is bigger than the control improvement.
👉 Read our full editorial: Identity consolidation is reshaping enterprise governance in 2026
This post was modified 3 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group