Topic starter
11/08/2026 3:23 pm
TL;DR: Identity governance does not lack standards, according to Fischer Identity; the real problem is that many programmes drift from authoritative data, lifecycle automation, least-privilege policy, and auditability, which turns governance into fragile custom work instead of repeatable control. Proven frameworks matter because the gap is execution discipline, not conceptual invention.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Fischer Identity: “The Myth of “No Best Practices” in IGA — Why Proven Frameworks Already Exist”.
Key questions
Q: Why do IGA programmes fail even when the policy framework looks complete?
A: They fail when the platform cannot see all the systems where access exists or when entitlement ownership is unclear.
Q: What breaks when identity governance is coded from scratch?
A: What breaks first is usually maintainability.
Q: How do teams know if IGA is actually working?
A: Look for evidence that entitlement changes are being governed before access expands beyond need.
Practitioner guidance
- Enforce authoritative source governance Map each identity population to a single source of truth for joiner, mover, and leaver events, then remove competing manual entry points that can override lifecycle state.
- Replace scripted access logic with configuration Move entitlement rules, approvals, and exception handling into governed configuration so changes remain visible, testable, and upgrade-safe.
- Standardise certification evidence Require every access review to retain approver identity, decision timestamp, entitlement snapshot, and policy rationale so audit trails remain defensible.
Bottom line: IGA maturity is not blocked by missing standards, but by programmes that ignore the standards they already have.
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11/08/2026 3:33 pm
IGA failures are usually execution failures, not framework failures. The core principles of authoritative data, automated lifecycle, policy-based access, and auditable certification are already settled across the discipline. What breaks in practice is the decision to replace them with shortcuts that optimise for perceived speed while weakening control determinism. Practitioners should treat inconsistent implementation as the real governance risk, not a lack of guidance.
A few things that frame the scale:
- Nearly 60% of IT leaders cite restrictive cost and complexity as a weakness of legacy identity governance, according to the 2025 State of Identity Governance Report.
A question worth separating out:
Q: What is the difference between policy-driven IGA and flexible custom implementation?
A: Policy-driven IGA expresses decisions in configuration, so the rules are visible and repeatable. Custom implementation pushes those decisions into code, where they become opaque and harder to govern. The practical difference is whether identity control survives routine change without losing auditability or creating hidden exceptions.
👉 Read our full editorial: IGA best practices are established, but often ignored