Topic starter
12/06/2026 10:11 pm
TL;DR: Passwordless adoption is accelerating, but credential issuance and lifecycle friction still drive help-desk load, policy workarounds, and delayed access, according to Axiad and Gartner figures cited in the post. The governance problem is not password removal alone, but whether organisations can issue, enroll, and manage new credentials without creating shadow workarounds.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Axiad: “Don’t let issuing credentials stand in your way to passwordless”.
By the numbers:
- By 2022, Gartner predicted that 60% of global companies would use passwordless solutions to authenticate their users and devices, and 90% of mid-size businesses would.
- 92% of CISOs predicted that passwordless was the future of authentication.
- Credential issues led to over 40% of users’ help desk calls.
Key questions
Q: How should organisations reduce friction in passwordless credential enrolment?
A: Start by simplifying the enrolment journey into a small number of consistent steps, then make routine issuance and recovery self-service where the assurance model allows.
Q: Why do passwordless programmes still need strong help desk controls?
A: Passwordless programmes still need strong help desk controls because recovery workflows often become the easiest way to defeat authentication.
Q: What are the signs that a passwordless access programme is failing to reduce friction?
A: Common warning signs include repeated helpdesk requests, slow onboarding for new users, separate recovery steps for different systems, and continued reliance on passwords or manual overrides.
Practitioner guidance
- Standardise credential issuance journeys Consolidate enrolment flows into a small number of consistent paths so users do not have to learn separate workflows for each authenticator type.
- Reduce help-desk dependence for enrolment and recovery Make common credential updates self-service where assurance requirements allow, so users can complete routine identity steps without waiting for IT.
- Map credential types to clear use cases Assign mobile authenticators, hardware keys, smart cards, and device-bound methods to the access scenarios they actually support, then document those choices for users.
Bottom line: Passwordless adoption can still fail when credential issuance and lifecycle handling are too complex for ordinary users to complete without assistance.
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This topic was modified 6 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group
13/06/2026 12:48 am
Passwordless programmes fail when issuance is harder than authentication itself: The market often treats passwordless as a factor replacement problem, but the article shows the real constraint is lifecycle experience. If users cannot enrol, refresh, or recover credentials quickly, the control becomes operationally brittle. The practitioner conclusion is simple: authentication strength does not survive a broken issuance journey.
A question worth separating out:
A: Passwordless changes the control surface, but it does not eliminate governance requirements around identity proofing, enrolment, recovery, and lifecycle management. The key difference is that the security outcome now depends more heavily on whether users can complete those steps without friction, support dependency, or policy workarounds.
👉 Read our full editorial: Passwordless credential issuance still creates identity friction
This post was modified 6 days ago by NHI Mgmt Group