What is identity and access management [2025 guide]

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is crucial in today's security landscape, with 80% of organizations experiencing identity-related incidents in the last year. IAM tools can help mitigate risks, but traditional solutions have limitations that create blindspots, such as non-human identities and outdated group names. To address these challenges, organizations need to implement more intelligent solutions that offer better visibility into access management and provide a comprehensive view of permissions across systems. This requires understanding the differences between identity management and access management, how IAM works, cloud vs on-premise deployment models, and the limitations of traditional IAM solutions. Modern solutions like Veza can help simplify IAM, automate provisioning and deprovisioning processes, improve visibility into effective permissions, and provide a unified view of access across systems. By moving beyond traditional IAM tools and adopting more advanced solutions, organizations can address emerging identity security challenges and ensure their organization's future.