Market Guide to Securing the Production Stack
A research report for understanding the modern privileged access management space
Executive Summary
Modern production infrastructure has outpaced traditional Privileged Access Management (PAM), leading to an increase in the identity attack surface along with significant operational drag.
Traditional, on-premises, vault-centric PAM systems, which were designed for a small, static set of accounts, can no longer manage the breadth of modern systems, protocols, and identity types, including human, non-human, and agentic identities.
This complexity results in over-provisioned, standing privileges and slow, manual access workflows that frustrate developers and increase risk. This guide outlines a strategic shift from legacy, isolated PAM to an Identity-Native, API-first model that supports a decoupled, “zero-touch” production access environment.
Capabilities in this modern approach leverage:
Just-in-Time (JIT) access and Zero Standing Privilege (ZSP): JIT allows identities to request access only when needed, and only for as long as needed, which is critical for minimizing the identity attack surface and enforcing a least-privilege policy. (See our Academy episode for an explainer on JiT and ZSP)
Broad, consistent coverage: A modern privileged access platform must cover the full spectrum of high-risk assets, including cloud consoles, databases, Kubernetes and code repositories, and all identity types, particularly non-human identities (NHIs) which often hold unchecked privileged access.
