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Identity Security in India | How and Why Indian Enterprises Should Embrace Modern Identity Strategies | Saviynt

Written by Nitin Varma | Jun 30, 2025 11:33:26 AM

The Tipping Point of India’s Digital Growth

India’s digital journey has been nothing short of phenomenal. In just over a decade, we have built one of the world’s most dynamic digital ecosystems, where citizens can pay, authenticate, and access services at the tap of a finger. Remote work has become mainstream, cloud adoption is surging, and government services are increasingly digital-first.

Yet, as we race ahead, new challenges are surfacing. As I often say, without securing identities, human and non-human, we risk derailing the very progress we have made.

A Confluence of Drivers: Why Timing Matters

Several powerful forces are converging, making identity security a boardroom priority:

  • Regulatory push: The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, CERT-In guidelines, and sector-specific mandates (especially in BFSI, healthcare, and government) are raising the bar on data privacy and security.
  • Tech ecosystem maturity: India is now home to over 100 SaaS unicorns and cloud-native startups, backed by robust IT infrastructure. Enterprises are ready to embrace modern security models.
  • Threat landscape shift: Identity has become the new perimeter. According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, stolen or compromised credentials remain the most common cause of breaches, accounting for 19% of incidents globally. India is not immune—and insider threats are also on the rise.
The timing could not be more critical. Identity security must evolve from an IT checkbox to a strategic enabler.

The Identity Security Gap

Despite the urgency, many Indian organizations are still grappling with fragmented identity systems and legacy Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) tools. Visibility across users, especially non-human identities like bots, service accounts, and APIs—remains poor.

Studies show that while India’s IAM market is growing at a CAGR of over 15% (MarketsandMarkets, 2024), adoption maturity lags behind global benchmarks. Too many organizations are relying on patchwork solutions or outdated governance models.

The cost of delay is high: from regulatory penalties under the DPDP Act to the reputational and financial damage caused by breaches.

India's Unique Opportunity

India has a great chance to leapfrog legacy approaches. We have a young, tech-savvy workforce ready to drive innovation. Public digital infrastructures like Aadhaar, UPI, and ONDC have proven that we can scale secure digital ecosystems for over a billion people.

Boards and technology leaders are becoming increasingly aware that cybersecurity—and particularly identity security—is foundational to business continuity and growth. The appetite for transformation is real.

Identity as a Business Enabler

Forward-thinking enterprises are already seeing the benefits of a modern identity strategy. By replacing legacy systems with Saviynt’s converged platform, LIXIL unified access governance across 40,000 identities and over 1,000 applications globally. This shift not only reduced operational complexity but also improved security posture and supported their digital transformation goals across markets.

Modern IGA isn’t just about provisioning users or ticking compliance boxes—it’s about enabling digital trust, implementing Zero Trust architectures, and unlocking operational agility.

Take, for instance, the leading global financial services provider that streamlined access across 100,000+ identities by adopting Saviynt’s converged platform. By automating joiner-mover-leaver processes and aligning to security-first principles, the organization cut provisioning time in half while strengthening its compliance posture. These outcomes aren’t isolated—whether it’s a bank improving onboarding time by 40% or an IT firm reducing audit findings through continuous access certification, the message is clear: identity security isn’t just an IT concern—it’s central to driving innovation, operational efficiency, and regulatory trust.

A Call to Action for Indian Enterprises

The message is clear: it’s time to prioritize identity security.

A modern identity program should be:

  • Converged: Managing human and non-human identities through a single platform
  • Continuous: Ensuring compliance is built-in, not bolted-on
  • Intelligent: Using AI and analytics to detect anomalies and automate risk decisions
For CIOs, CISOs, and CTOs: start with small, strategic wins—such as Privileged Access Management for non-human identities or automating user lifecycle management—but think long-term. Identity is not a one-time project; it’s a critical pillar of your enterprise architecture.

India Can Lead the Way

India has always been a land of possibility—and now, we have the opportunity to lead the world in secure digital innovation.

By embracing modern identity strategies today, Indian enterprises can set new global benchmarks in trust, resilience, and agility.

As I often say to my team and customers, "The future belongs to those who build it securely—and India is more than ready."