CYBERSECURITY | AI-driven identity security yields biggest returns, study finds
The study reveals that identity has shifted from a background IT function to a strategic platform powering automation, AI adoption, and digital transformation.
Identity security has emerged as the highest-return investment in enterprise cybersecurity, outperforming other areas such as endpoint and network protection, according to SailPoint Technologies’ latest Horizons of Identity Security 2025–2026 Report.
The study, now in its fourth year, reveals that identity has shifted from a background IT function to a strategic platform powering automation, AI adoption, and digital transformation.
“Identity has become the top ROI generator in the security stack—helping enterprises cut costs, reduce risk, and accelerate growth,” said Matt Mills, president of SailPoint. “It is now the central control point where policies are enforced, critical decisions are made, and security operations converge.”
The survey of 375 global decision-makers in cybersecurity and IT found that artificial intelligence is driving the biggest gap between leaders and laggards. Organizations using AI-enabled identity controls were four times more likely to reach advanced maturity stages.
These capabilities include identity threat detection and response, adaptive authentication, and governance for machine and AI agent identities. Companies that unify fragmented identity data and automate lifecycle workflows also reported significant productivity and efficiency gains.
Despite growing awareness, 63 percent of organizations remain at the basic levels of identity maturity—Horizons 1 and 2—still relying heavily on manual processes. Only 10 percent have reached Horizons 4 and 5, where identity becomes a growth platform.
Some organizations even regressed in 2025. Analysts attributed this to rising thresholds for maturity, which now include AI agent lifecycle governance and multi-cloud entitlement management.
The study emphasized that identity consistently delivers twice the return of other security domains, with advanced programs reporting ROI multiples of up to 10 times compared to investments in compliance, endpoint, or network security tools.
Execution challenges remain a barrier for many firms. Nearly half of identity management projects went over budget, and 60 percent missed their target timelines. A third of organizations also said deployments failed to improve user experience.
Poor data quality was highlighted as a major issue. Companies that prioritized data cleanup before migration were 1.6 times more likely to succeed. Application onboarding remains a universal challenge, particularly for enterprises with large hybrid or multi-cloud environments.
Technology and banking companies lead in advanced identity maturity, while healthcare has shown rapid progress, climbing from six percent in Horizon 4 in 2024 to 10 percent in 2025. Manufacturing continues to lag, with 61 percent stuck in Horizon 1 due to legacy systems and complex operational environments.
Regionally, North America and Asia-Pacific have the most advanced maturity levels, while Europe and Latin America trail. The report noted that despite strict data protection laws, half of European organizations remain at Horizon 1.
The study points to four trends shaping the future of identity security: broader governance extending to AI agents, dynamic privileged access models, identity fabrics unifying control across hybrid environments, and integrated identity telemetry driving faster, automated threat response.
Case studies highlighted in the report include Wipro, which is using identity as the foundation for AI-driven automation, and Specsavers, which automated manual tasks to strengthen security and boost operational efficiency.
As machine identities and AI agents proliferate, SailPoint warns that thresholds for maturity will continue to rise. Non-human identities now outnumber human ones in enterprise environments, and 60 percent of organizations believe they pose greater security risks.
“The future of identity is tightly connected to AI-driven data governance,” Mills said. “Organizations that advance their maturity will be better positioned to stay secure and succeed.”
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