Workload Identity Management
Workload Identity Management is the discipline of securing and governing non-human identities (NHIs) — including API keys, service accounts, OAuth apps, CI/CD tokens, webhooks, and increasingly, AI agents — that interact with digital systems across cloud, SaaS, on-prem, and hybrid environments.
According to Gartner, Workload Identity Management is an emerging but critical security capability, formally featured in their 2025 Hype Cycle for Digital Identity. Positioned at the “Peak of Inflated Expectations”, the category reflects high enterprise interest driven by urgent needs for visibility, lifecycle management, and threat detection for machine-to-machine access.
Gartner, Hype Cycle for Digital Identity, 2025, Nayara Sangiorgio, Nathan Harris, 14 July 2025. © Gartner, Inc. All rights reserved. This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
In its Leaders’ Guide to Modern Machine IAM (May 2025), Gartner states:
“As organizations expand cloud-native infrastructure and adopt AI-driven automation, traditional IAM controls fall short in managing the scale, speed, and diversity of non-human access.”
Modern Workload Identity Management solutions address these challenges by:
- Providing real-time discovery of all machine identities, including short-lived AI agents.
- Enforcing least-privilege access and just-in-time provisioning.
- Monitoring usage behavior to detect credential misuse or lateral movement.
- Automating lifecycle workflows from provisioning to decommissioning.
Offering centralized control to meet compliance and audit requirements.
Why it matters:
Unchecked NHIs are a growing security blind spot. Without proper governance, secrets can persist with excessive privileges, become orphaned, or be exploited by attackers. The rise of agentic AI compounds this risk — as these agents operate autonomously, often creating or invoking identities in real time.
Astrix Security is recognized by Gartner as a leading vendor in this space, delivering a purpose-built platform for Workload Identity Management that combines deep visibility, risk-based prioritization, automated remediation, and native support for AI-agent governance.