Enterprise identity security has a scale problem and it’s not because organizations don’t have the right tools. It’s because those tools don’t work together.
Recent research from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), commissioned by Simeio, reveals a fundamental obstacle facing identity security teams today: IAM silos. These silos go beyond just operational annoyances. They’re slowing down application onboarding, creating policy blind spots, and preventing teams from demonstrating ROI.
Most organizations aren’t lacking investment in identity. They’re lacking orchestration.
Identity Teams Are Doing More With Less Harmony
According to the ESG study, 72% of identity leaders say deploying identity security tools takes longer and is more complex than originally planned, and 67% say managing IAM technologies has gotten harder over the last two years. These pain points aren’t isolated. They reflect a pattern of increasing fragmentation in identity security strategies.
Enterprises typically use multiple IAM tools across different domains: Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), Privileged Access Management (PAM), and access management. These tools may serve specific business needs well in isolation, but without a unified layer to coordinate across them, gaps begin to emerge.
And these gaps aren’t theoretical, they’re measurable. ESG’s data shows that many organizations struggle to show tangible returns or risk reduction from their IAM investments. For something as foundational as identity, that’s a serious problem.
Siloed Systems, Slower Security
Identity policies are a team sport. Security teams, cloud architects, application owners, DevOps, compliance officers, legal teams—the list of stakeholders continues to grow. Yet each group often uses different systems and approaches. That’s how silos are born.
When it comes to onboarding a new business application, this fragmentation creates friction. Identity teams must coordinate across access controls, governance frameworks, and privileged access policies, often manually. The more tools involved, the more time-consuming and error-prone that process becomes.
This is as risky as it is inefficient. For example, it’s common for organizations to deploy SSO or MFA broadly while applying PAM to only a small subset of users and systems. That means privileged credentials may be secured in some cases but left vulnerable in others.
Access management offers speed and usability. PAM offers targeted control and risk mitigation. But without orchestration, these two systems may never fully intersect. The result: inconsistent coverage and missed opportunities for security gains.
Why Identity Orchestration Is a Force Multiplier
Rather than adding more tools or hiring more staff, enterprises are starting to rethink how they connect what they already have. That’s where identity orchestration comes in.
Orchestration brings order to identity chaos. It acts as a connective layer across disparate IAM platforms, helping identity teams automate manual tasks, unify policy enforcement, and speed up application onboarding. The ESG white paper identifies several key criteria for effective orchestration:
- SaaS delivery for scalability and rapid deployment
- Prebuilt integrations across access management, IGA, and PAM
- Automation of onboarding workflows to reduce time to value
- Self-service capabilities for app and infrastructure teams
- Centralized reporting for audit readiness and compliance tracking
For modern identity programs operating at scale, these are practical capabilities that have become the standard, not simply the extra mile.
The Business Case for Orchestration
The beauty of identity orchestration is its dual impact. It delivers security and efficiency in equal measure. By unifying IAM processes:
- Enterprises onboard applications faster, meeting business demands without compromising security.
- Security teams reduce risk by ensuring consistent policy enforcement across systems.
- Compliance becomes easier, with centralized reporting and audit evidence readily available.
- The organization gets more value out of its existing IAM investments, rather than sinking time and budget into fragmented integrations.
At Simeio, we believe identity security shouldn’t be held back by complexity. That’s why we developed the Simeio Identity Orchestrator (IO)—a purpose-built platform designed to unify identity security services across your ecosystem.
Simeio IO eliminates the inefficiencies caused by disconnected IAM domains. What’s more, it empowers application owners with self-service capabilities, relieving pressure on overextended identity teams and allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives.
Identity Security Can’t Afford to Wait
In today’s environment, where every identity is a potential threat vector, slow or inconsistent IAM processes are dangerous. Organizations need agility, visibility, and alignment across their identity ecosystem.
Identity orchestration offers a scalable, practical path forward. It helps enterprises stop reacting to identity complexity and start mastering it.
Ready to see what streamlined, orchestrated identity security looks like?
Download the ESG white paper for expert insights and a roadmap to stronger identity security posture through orchestration.
