Identity and access management (IAM) has evolved from a behind-the-scenes necessity to a mission-critical enabler of trust, innovation, and efficiency in today’s digital world. Simeio’s 2025 sales kick-off (SKO) is one of the company’s most important contributions to the task of making the digital marketplace more secure, user-friendly, and efficient.
The mission driving SKO 2025: Accelerate. The Identity landscape is quickly evolving and solutions need to move faster to prevent a breach. Identity experts must lay the groundwork for businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive. Navigating the complexities of modern identity management requires a forward-thinking approach. To drive growth and adaptability let’s revisit the key IAM trends from SKO 2025.
AI and Machine Learning in Identity:
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is making waves, and it’s changing how we approach IAM. AI in identity management is no longer just a buzzword, but an area of concern and importance across multiple industries.
We have all seen the headlines about AI’s use in high-profile attacks like those targeting TaskRabbit, Yum! Brands, and Activision, but that’s only one side the story. The other side is about the incredible opportunities AI creates to strengthen identity management.
There is great potential for AI to make a difference in user experience, adaptive cybersecurity, and analytics. Automation in IAM solutions already provides exceptional advantages for compliance, threat detection, and breach remediation. When you add machine learning to the mix, you get systems that adapt and improve in real time, keeping pace with a rapidly changing world.
However, there are challenges. Even in these early stages, technology professionals are struggling to deal with hurdles like balancing data privacy with data collection, false positives and negatives from erroneous analysis, and the sheer complexity of implementing this new frontier of computation. With the right tools and strategies, AI in IAM can deliver benefits that once seemed out of reach.
As discussed at SKO 2025, one of the most dangerous threat vectors is technology evolution, wherein generative artificial intelligence (AI) multiplies a threat by making sophisticated attacks easier to create. The best way to counter malicious usage of AI is to build out a defensive counterpart.
Tackling the Rise of Machine Identities with Simeio:
Did you know that machine identities now outnumber human identities by 45 to 1? Machine Identities include devices, applications, and systems your organization relies on every day. Unfortunately, many companies still don’t have the visibility or tools to manage them effectively.
High-profile data breaches of the past few years, such as the 2022 Uber breach, were the result of exploited machine identities. A special Sailpoint report estimated that only 38% of companies have visibility on their machine identities. As machine identities continue to grow, so do the stakes. Imagine the potential consequences of a compromised factory robot or power grid system.
Now is the time to invest in solutions that account for machine identities alongside human ones. Companies need to build out expertise for the unique challenges of securing and managing machine identities, as well as update their existing identity infrastructure to handle the oncoming tide of ever-expanding machine identities.
Fortunately, the same principles that safeguard human identities can be broadly applied to machine identities. Our SKO speakers emphasized a need for an understanding of “foundational” cybersecurity which extends across all sectors:
- Vulnerabilities (weaknesses/flaws)
- Threats (actions that compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability)
- Risks (losses and damages affecting businesses resulting from a breach event)
So long as an enterprise keeps these three factors in mind when planning their cybersecurity strategy for machine identities, they stand a fair chance of staying safe.
Proactive Identity Security Posture Management at SKO 2025:
Identity security posture management (ISPM) is the identity-focused cousin of risk posture management. It’s a proactive way to secure an identity ecosystem by focusing on real-time monitoring, automation, and swift threat response. All these aspects must be planned out with appropriate infrastructure in advance of an incident.
One of the key components of cybersecurity discussed at SKO was the specific vectors facing enterprises in 2025. These include stealth operations (increasing use of identity-based social engineering attacks), targeting and agility (attacks focusing on third party vectors have lowered their average breakout time from 84 minutes in 2022 to 62 minutes in 2024), interactive intrusions (adversaries directly executing actions on hosts to accomplish objectives), cloud intrusion (cloud environment intrusions and cloud conscious cases), and a growing black market economy (eCrime victims’ identities sold by access brokers).
Achieving strong ISPM requires a comprehensive IAM solution, which oftentimes means a full overhaul to existing systems. One of Simeio’s most important outreach programs discussed at SKO 2025 is our targeting of businesses with immature IAM strategy. Rather than throw their existing solutions away, the Simeio team uses existing investments and optimizes them within the client’s revamped identity fabric. This greatly aids buy-in and ensures that the money spent doesn’t go to waste.
Among potential solutions, identity orchestration is rapidly emerging as the top contender, as it provides the visibility and control needed to properly account for potential identity threats. It brings all identities, applications, and security tools into a single platform. This makes it easier to monitor and protect an entire identity ecosystem while staying ahead of potential threats.
Heavy Pressure Against Healthcare:
All industries suffered from rising cyber-threats in 2025, with some sources reporting as high as a 490% increase in breach victims. However, two industries emerged as the most at-risk to targeted attacks in 2025: healthcare and financial institutions. The Change Healthcare breach alone affected over 100 MN individuals, with other incidents like the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan breach striking over 13 MN. Without modernized cybersecurity, these attacks are set to get even worse in 2025.
On top of that, these industries face increasing regulatory pressure. The European Health Data Space (EHDS) initiative is gaining steam, looking to set mandatory identity security baselines that companies must contend with alongside the existing pressures of the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive 2, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). For organizations in these sectors, modern IAM solutions aren’t just a good idea—they’re essential for meeting both security and regulatory demands.
Additionally, enterprises must consider that the rising cost of breaches in these sectors are increasing, both from direct losses and regulatory fines. Beyond the average global cost per breach of $4.88 MN (a 10% increase from 2023) affected companies must contend with the burgeoning losses in customer and investor confidence. When the first result to come up in a search engine for your company is related to a data breach, your enterprise is in a rough spot.
One of the first steps towards solving this problem is raising awareness of the threat actors behind modern cybersecurity. At SKO, our speakers talked about three main classifications. These are eCrime actors (ransomware), nation state actors (surveillance, intel collection), and hacktivists/faketivists (politically motivated disruption, influence, and leaks). By understanding the motivations behind the attacks, healthcare providers stand a much better chance of making effective investments to counter them.
Addressing the Talent Shortage in IAM with Simeio:
One of the biggest challenges in cybersecurity today is finding skilled people to fill IAM roles. TechTarget reports that 3 out of 5 enterprises have unfilled cybersecurity positions, and IAM roles suffer similar difficulties. Despite market growth for IAM solutions, the talent pool continues to decrease, which leads to worsening outcomes from data breaches. This, in turn, leads to rough working conditions for the few staff who are pulled in, hurting their resolve and even driving them out of the company or out of the talent pool altogether.
Only one practical and long-term solution to this staffing shortage has emerged with any record of success. Independent managed identity service providers (MSPs) are stepping up to strengthen in-house staff and provide long-term solutions even in the face of reduced on-site staff. These organizations can tap into expert knowledge, streamline implementations, and obtain ongoing support—all without overloading their in-house teams.
From there, the client can either handle identity themselves or else extend their contract, allowing the MSP to continuously review, monitor, and improve performance. This approach reduces costs and increases operational efficiency in an increasingly complex landscape. This also provides an often-overlooked skillset which has become increasingly important for technical experts: personal communication.
One of the SKO speakers, Kevin Dunn, emphasized the need to communicate and empathize with stakeholders when making a case for cybersecurity investments. If identity professionals want to improve the overall state of digital security, then they need to speak to individuals on their own level. This starts with reaching stakeholders on their own level:
- CEO/CFO: Revenue and Profit
- CIO/CTO: Good Tech and Strategy Decisions
- CSO/CISO: Security and Compliance Risk Management
By communicating in terms an individual understands, buy-in becomes much easier to achieve.
Looking Beyond SKO 2025:
The IAM trends shaping 2025 reflect both the challenges and opportunities of the digital age. By embracing AI, securing machine identities, creating ISPM, and strategizing around the talent gap, organizations can set themselves up for success—not just in the year ahead, but for years to come.
IAM is about more than security; it’s about creating a foundation for growth, trust, and innovation. The steps you take today will shape your organization’s ability to navigate the future with confidence. Let’s build that future together.
Written by Bennett Keim
