SailPoint has released its Horizons of Identity Security 2025–2026 report, revealing that identity security now delivers the highest return on investment (ROI) across the security stack. Once viewed as a back-office control, identity has evolved into a strategic platform that fuels business agility, productivity, and AI enablement—all while reducing risk.
“The report shows that identity has become the central control point for modern enterprises,” said Matt Mills, President, SailPoint. “It is where policies are enforced, critical decisions are made, and security operations converge. With advances in AI, threat detection, and governance, identity security is delivering unified visibility and resilience, enabling enterprises to manage every identity—human, machine, or AI agent.”
Identity Leaders Pull Ahead
The research highlights a widening maturity gap. Nearly two-thirds of organizations (63%) remain stuck at basic levels, relying on manual processes, while only 10% have advanced to higher maturity stages where identity drives measurable growth. For the first time, some companies even regressed, reflecting how rising complexity and new requirements—like AI agent lifecycle governance—raise the bar for advancement.
What separates leaders from laggards is the adoption of AI and automation. Organizations with AI-enabled identity programs are four times more likely to deploy advanced capabilities such as adaptive authentication, automated identity data synchronization, and identity threat detection and response (ITDR). These leaders report higher cost savings, stronger security, and measurable productivity gains.
The Roadblocks—and How to Overcome Them
Execution challenges remain a stumbling block. Deployment complexity and fragmented identity data continue to slow progress. The report notes that organizations focusing on data cleanup before migration are 1.6x more likely to scale effectively. Similarly, stage-appropriate practices like automated app onboarding and lifecycle workflows clear the path for advanced capabilities.
Customer examples underscore this trajectory. Wipro is scaling from enterprise-wide adoption to AI-driven capabilities, positioning identity as the foundation for transformation. Specsavers has automated large volumes of manual tasks, enhancing both security and efficiency while enforcing least-privilege access. These stories highlight how identity can move beyond compliance to become a catalyst for innovation.
Identity as a Strategic Growth Platform
Across four years of Horizons research, identity’s role has consistently expanded—from managing human users, to machine identities, and now AI agents. The report underscores that identity delivers twice the ROI of other security domains, with some organizations reporting up to 10x returns when treating identity as a strategic enabler rather than a technical requirement.
“The organizations advancing further across the Horizons are recognizing identity’s strategic role and reaping outsized benefits,” added Mills. “Identity security is no longer just about risk reduction—it’s about enabling growth, revenue, and AI innovation safely.”