The customer identity and access management (CIAM) market is growing rapidly, with an estimated $8 billion in size. However, the economics of scale offered by larger vendors like Auth0 by Okta are becoming increasingly unsustainable for smaller businesses and startups. This is due to the "IdP tax," a hidden fee charged by these vendors for each connected identity provider (IdP) connection, which can quickly add up to millions of dollars annually. The IdP tax disproportionately impacts businesses that rely on scalability and flexibility, forcing them into unsustainable pricing models. It's estimated that companies with high user volume, multi-tenant SaaS, IoT and smart devices, and healthcare applications are particularly affected by these fees. Smaller organizations often struggle to afford the additional costs, which can stifle competition and innovation in the industry. The market is calling for more transparent, scalable pricing from vendors, prioritizing IdPs and M2M connections as core functionality rather than premium add-ons.