The 71st Edition of the Identity Jedi Newsletter

Valentine Day’s Edition

Hey Jedi welcome to the 71st edition of the Identity Jedi Newsletter. The Valentine’s Day Edition! Let’s spread the love! This edition we are going to look at the power couple in the identity industry. The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce of Identity, if you will. ( Couldn’t help it). Also an update to the “Identity 50” ( This is the new name for the list of identity companies I’ve been tracking..previously known as the list).

Annnd some news to fill you in on.

(If you’re a vendor make sure to check out the Last Word…just saying)

Before you cuddle up with your special Valentine, make sure to spread the love of the newsletter!

Let’s Get to the Good Stuff!

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK

IGA ♥️ PAM

If identity had a power couple, it would have to be IGA and PAM. These two crazy kids have been flirting with each other for decades now, and finally, we are starting to see them come together as the power couple we always knew they should be.

Governing access to the most critical resources in your organization should always be your top priority. We’ve seen time and again that when a breach happens, the first thing adversaries go after is privileged access. Because behind the privileged access is the data most valuable to a business. So it makes sense that you want to have as much protection around privileged accounts as possible.

That’s where PAM comes in. Providing visibility, alerting, and control around the accounts that have the most access in your organization. But how do you control the lifecycle of those accounts? How do you make sure that the appropriate approvals are in place to grant privileged access? How do you look for possible toxic combinations of privileged access?

The answer to all of those questions….

IGA of course.

Incorporating your privileged accounts into your IGA processes enables you to take advantage of all your hard work with IGA and apply it to PAM. It’s like peanut butter wrapped in a coat of chocolate.

As we see converged platforms take hold in the market, we see opportunities for organizations to mature their identity programs by running PAM and IGA projects in parallel and in the same system.

That’s some Valentine’s Day love there.

What’s your favorite duo in identity?

The Identity 50

Ok, so I’ve finally come up with a new name for “The List”. I’m calling it The Identity 50. Think of it like our version of the Fortune 500. These are the top 50 identity companies that we ( as in all of us in the industry) should be tracking. Again, THIS IS A COMMUNITY LIST. So make suggestions for new companies, and leave comments about the current companies.

Identity Jedi Show Podcast

The Last Word

Alright, two months into 2024, how are you feeling? Excited? Motivated? Or are you already counting down to 2025? Hopefully, it isn’t the latter. This year has been off to a tremendous start for me, and I’m super excited about the journey so far. So a little bit of news to share:

1) My team and I have been working hard to continue building the brand, and that has led to a number of published articles. ( Dark Reading, HR Tech Cube, Black Enterprise, etc).

2) You’ll notice a change in my Linkedin Profile if you follow me. As of last month, I started working with GuidePoint Security to help customers with IAM Advisory. I am excited to dig in with customers and help them figure out this crazy ride that is identity. But rest assured, the newsletter and podcast remain independent. But given the responsibilities there, with Raincoat and Identity Jedi…things are spread thin. Hence the move to make this a bi-weekly newsletter.

Identity is poised for some BIG things this year and I’m currently planning some Deep Dive Editions of the newsletter to cover some of the areas I think will be the most impactful: AI, Non-Human Identities, and Converged Platforms to name a few.

Also, I’m planning on making MKBHD-style reviews of identity products. I’ve got a few vendors I’m talking with now that are interested, and I’m excited to get this out to the community. For those unfamiliar with MKBHD, I’ll be doing reviews of identity products. I walk through and configure certain use cases and give honest feedback on what I like or don’t like about the system. So, if you’re a vendor out there and this sounds interesting, the mailbox is open. If you’re a practitioner and have a particular vendor you want me to review, the inbox is open!

Until next time,

Be Good to each other, Be Kind to each other, Love each other

-Identity Jedi

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