Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Here are three scenarios I come across frequently with customers of all sizes, in all industries, when discussing Active Roles by One Identity: These situations come from customers on all points of the "identity security maturity" spectrum. Those who have nothing in place or some things in place or an entire stack of fully implemented solutions in every category.

The identities of the most powerful users and admins in many organizations aren’t people. They’re Non-Human Identities (NHIs). Some of these NHIs execute actions with human configuration and oversight. Others, namely AI agents, can execute high-risk functions at different levels of autonomy. They can perform tasks that range from analyzing data to deploying code, at a volume and velocity far beyond human capabilities.

It’s no surprise that AI is being integrated into identity governance and administration (IGA) platforms. Automation promises productivity boosts, risk detection can be in real-time and cloud environments allow greater scalability. What’s more, the pace of AI means IGA is quickly moving beyond slower, more rigid, rule-based approaches.

Despite constant sweeping changes across IT, Active Directory (AD) continues to be the center of identity and access management (IAM) processes for most enterprises. Even as organizations adopt cloud identity platforms, on-premises AD carries the lion’s share of user authentication, authorizing access to critical systems and anchoring hybrid identity strategies. Because of this central role, AD security is nearly inseparable from directory security, cyber-resilience and breach prevention.

SAP environments, especially in the age of cloud work and hybrid infrastructures, are ripe with security complications. But SAP support and security is nothing to scoff at. Access controls alone in SAP environments require compliance capabilities for ultimate security, regardless of the security solution or deployment scenario.

Most organizations treat compliance as a cost of doing business — a box to check, an audit to survive, a regulatory hurdle to clear. Compliance rarely inspires excitement. For many organizations it is treated as a necessary obligation, something to satisfy regulators and auditors so the business can move forward. Security and IT teams often experience compliance as a cycle of documentation, manual processes and audit preparation that consumes valuable time and resources.

Financial services cybersecurity professionals fight daily battles to meet regulatory compliance and boost defenses without bogging down user experience. And every direction they turn, privileged access management (PAM) appears to save the day. This is especially true for the highly regulated financial industry.

Active Directory (AD) remains the foundational identity and access management system for the vast majority of enterprises globally, making it a prime target for cybercriminals. AD is constantly under attack, and threat actors rarely have to resort to complex, zero-day exploits to breach it. Instead, they rely on a pervasive and persistent vulnerability: everyday misconfigurations.

Among the many updates to Windows Server 2025, there’s a new Forest Functional Level (FFL) for Active Directory. This first new FFL since Windows Server 2016 underscores Microsoft’s long-term commitment to AD.

A lot happens during a user’s identity lifecycle. However, many organizations don’t always ensure user identities are securely created, removed and managed. There are also the risks around compliance violations, insider threats, lower productivity and higher costs from managing sprawling and complex environments. That’s why it’s business-critical to deliver holistic identity lifecycle management (ILM).