CSA: Priorities for Identity Management in 2025

Source URL: https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/blog/2024/10/30/top-iam-priorities-for-2025-addressing-multi-cloud-identity-management-challenges
Source: CSA
Title: Priorities for Identity Management in 2025

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**Summary:**
The text discusses the increasing adoption of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud architectures and the subsequent challenges in identity and access management (IAM) that organizations face. It highlights the significance of identity management policies as we approach 2025 and emphasizes the need for improved visibility, resolution of technical debt, and enhanced identity infrastructure. The insights derived from a CSA survey underscore an urgent need for organizations to address modern IAM challenges to maintain security and facilitate business growth.

**Detailed Description:**
The text outlines a comprehensive analysis of the current state and future needs of identity and access management (IAM) within the context of increasing multi-cloud and hybrid cloud adoption. The discussion is anchored in the findings of a survey conducted by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) involving 950 IT and security professionals. The following key points were derived from the text:

– **Current Landscape in IAM:**
– Organizations are facing challenges in securely integrating hybrid and cloud identity systems.
– Issues recognized include high costs associated with technical debt, talent shortages, and vendor lock-in.

– **Survey Insights:**
– The survey aimed to better understand:
– State of identity architecture in enterprises.
– Identity resiliency plans.
– Gaps in identity analytics capabilities.
– Current approaches to identity governance for applications.

– **Major Challenges Identified:**
1. **Visibility Gaps:**
– Over a third of organizations lack satisfaction with their ability to monitor IAM environments.
– Suggested solutions include implementing visibility tools and creating an identity fabric for orchestration to improve insights into user behaviors.

2. **Technical Debt:**
– 54% of organizations cite tech debt as the primary hurdle while modernizing IAM.
– Modernizing legacy systems and automating IAM processes are recommended as critical strategies.

3. **Identity Infrastructure Resilience:**
– 60% report issues stemming from complex IAM environments, and 51% suffer from outdated technology.
– Recommendations include the use of identity fabric with orchestration, conducting health checks, and simulations for improved resilience.

4. **Managing Multiple Identity Providers (IDPs):**
– 65% of organizations struggle to manage access controls across multiple IDPs.
– Emphasis on identity orchestration as a potential solution to balance security and user experience.

5. **Failover Strategies:**
– 38% have implemented continuous availability measures, and many organizations lack basic failover protocols.
– It is critical to automate switches to secondary IDPs to ensure uninterrupted identity services.

6. **Investment in Identity Management Solutions:**
– Only 11% considered reducing IAM budgets, indicating sustained investment in improvements.
– Priorities include enhancing identity analytics and modernizing legacy systems to align with business goals while mitigating security risks.

– **Conclusion:**
– Actionable strategies can significantly improve IAM posture and turn IAM teams into innovators within organizations.
– The text encourages organizations to download the full survey report for a detailed understanding of their IAM landscape.

Overall, this text is relevant to security and compliance professionals focusing on IAM, multi-cloud environments, and ensuring identity security and governance as organizations transition to more complex cloud frameworks.