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PAM in a Post-Pandemic Digital World

Sep 06, 2022
Warwick Ashford

Business IT and the way people work is changing. Trends towards digital transformation and remote working have only been accelerated by the global Covid pandemic. Therefore, the ways organizations manage Privileged Access must adapt and change accordingly to ensure the business remains competitive and secure.

At the same time that hybrid working is becoming more common, as people take advantage of technologies that support working from home or on the road as well as the office, IT architecture is rapidly shifting to multi-cloud, multi hybrid environments in which identities of all kinds will compete for access to business-critical cloud-based resources.

One of the most significant changes is that privileged users are no longer restricted to human users, but can include machines, service accounts, APIs, and even bits of code. For Privileged Access Management (PAM), the focus must be on authenticating genuine privileged identities in fast paced, least privilege, zero trust, cloud-first environments.

Attention also needs to be paid to securing privileged accounts, credentials, and secrets, and improving business flows and access to data so that those users who need privileged access can do so in an efficient and timely manner.

But all this can be challenging for those entrusted with managing privileged identities. Organizations around the world are typically plagued by limited visibility of privileged accounts, users, and credentials. This creates a whole host of security, accountability, and regulatory compliance issues.

As organizations accelerate their migration to the cloud, it is critical that they have a strategic privileged access approach in place to ensure secure onboarding and management of new privileged accounts at scale. It has never been more important for organizations to have the right tools, processes, and strategies to manage privileged identities effectively and efficiently.

In the light of the changing business and IT environment, organizations need to ensure that they know how to evaluate business cases for PAM, that they understand why they need PAM capabilities, that they have a strategic approach to deploying PAM, that they know how to assess the success of their PAM deployments, and that they are familiar with the with PAM best practices.

Think beyond solutions that cover just multi-cloud, but integrate across multi-cloud multi-hybrid IT. Focus also on integration with the IAM and PAM infrastructure you have in place. Look at the overarching DevSecOps (KuppingerCole SODAS) model; and the model for agile service delivery in a modern, multi-cloud, multi-hybrid IT (KuppingerCole BASIS) for a comprehensive approach.

— Martin Kuppinger, Principal Analyst, KuppingerCole.

Because we understand the importance of privileged access management in increasingly complex IT environments, and because we are committed to helping your business succeed, KuppingerCole has a great deal of content available in a variety of formats.

This includes our KC Live events, such the one taking place next week, which will look at how to manage privileged access in working and IT environment that is undergoing rapid change in a digital, post-pandemic world. Discover all you need to know about Becoming a Better Privileged Access Manager by registering free of charge to attend this online event on 14 September.

Research 

Get an overview of the PAM market and some of the most important vendors by having a look at this Leadership Compass on Privileged Access Management and its associated Buyer’s Compass, which provides additional information on use cases, selection criteria, prerequisites, and questions to ask vendors.

Changing business practices, hybrid IT, cloud and other aspects of digital transformation has meant that users of privileged accounts have become more numerous and widespread. One area in sharp focus is DevOps support which has become essential to many organizations looking to become more responsive and innovative. Find out more in this Leadership Compass on Privileged Access Management for DevOps.

Advisories 

Changes in the way people work and the technologies they use is having an effect on the way PAM solutions are evolving. To fine out more about this evolution, have a look at this Advisory Note on Trends in Privilege Access Management for the Digital Enterprise.

Managing the use of privileged accounts is essential to protect against mistakes and misuse as well as cyberattacks and leakage of data. For an overview of the steps that organizations need to take to manage privilege, have a look at this Leadership Brief on Privileged Account Management Considerations.

For an overview overview of challenges in privilege management, the status of the privilege management market, the maturing levels of offerings, and what to consider when choosing privilege management solutions, have a look at this Advisory Note on Privilege Management.

Audio/video

In a post-pandemic world, we have seen accelerated adoption of hybrid working and multi-cloud computing. Have a look at this video to find out more about PAM from a CISO Perspective.

If you would like to hear to what our analysts have to say about trends in PAM, listen to these Analyst Chats on Privileged Access in an Agile World and Ephemeral Credentials.

For PAM related presentations by our analysts, have a look at these presentations on Privileged Access Management in a Changing World, and PAM: You're not alone. The interplay of PAM with Cybersecurity, IAM, and ITSM.

Blogs

If you would prefer to read concise perspectives on PAM in the modern IT environment, have a look at these blog posts on:

Webinars

Changing business practices, agile software development and digital transformation has meant that users of privileged accounts have become more numerous and widespread, making PAM one of the most important areas of risk management and security in any organization. 

Find out how best to navigate the PAM market to find the best solution for your company by having a look at this Webinar on: Understanding the Privileged Access Management (PAM) Market, and get a better understanding of how to choose the most appropriate PAM solution in this context by looking at this Webinar entitled: Decoding Advanced Privileged Access Management for Digital Environments.

Discover the identity and access challenges associated with multi-cloud deployments, why IAM is essential, and why PAM is also important in terms of traditional privileged access management and secrets management in the Webinar entitled: Meeting the Identity and Access Challenges in a Multi-Cloud World.

Learn how advanced PAM can secure your journey to digital transformation in this Webinar on The Future of Privileged Access Management and Reducing Risk for Modern Digital Enterprises.

No matter whether you are just starting out on your PAM journey or if you have already begun your PAM rollout, find out how the PAM basics have changed and what milestone you should be following in this Webinar entitled: Designing and Establishing a Mature PAM Ecosystem for Reducing Risk in Your Organisation.

Whitepapers              

Increasingly, PAM solutions need to support non-human, machine, and application identities. Find out more about this topic in these Whitepapers on Enhanced Privilege Access Management Solutions and Privileged Access Management Solutions for Agile, Multi-Cloud and DevOps Environments.

One way PAM solutions are adapting to new IT environments and challenges is by including artificial intelligence technologies. Learn more about this trend in this Whitepaper entitled: AI, Machine Learning and Privileged Access Management.

Insight

Wherever you are in your PAM journey, KuppingerCole’s Insight on Privileged Access Management is designed to explain why privileged access matters to your business in the context of the modern IT environment, and highlight the top things you need to know to get started.

Tech Investment

Organizations investing in technologies to support PAM in modern IT environments, can have a look at some of the related technology solutions that we have evaluated: