Too often, we treat identity and access management (IAM) as a background process—something handled by IT, a necessary cost of doing business. But if there’s one lesson the last few years have taught us, it’s that the old approach isn’t enough. Ownership isn’t just a checkbox; it’s the foundation for every security strategy that hopes to stand up against today’s threats.
A recent piece from SC World (“Time for retailers to treat identity as a core strategy”) drives this point home. While the focus is on retail, the lessons apply across industries: “Identity should no longer be siloed as a security or compliance issue—it must become a core business strategy.”
Why Ownership is More Than a Technical Requirement
Let’s get specific. Ownership is the only reliable way to answer the questions that matter:
- Who actually owns this account?
- Is the access still justified?
- If something goes wrong, who’s accountable?
Without clear, validated ownership, you’re not managing risk—you’re hoping for the best. Every dormant account, every untracked service identity, every out-of-date entitlement is a potential breach point.
This is especially acute in environments with high turnover, distributed workforces, or extensive third-party integrations (sound familiar?). The SC World article highlights how lack of ownership leads to “invisible” identities—accounts that remain active long after the legitimate user has left, or worse, accounts that are never traced back to a human at all.
Identity as Strategy—Not Just Technology
So why is it so hard to get this right? Traditional tools focus on what an account can do, but not who stands behind it. The “who” is critical for two reasons:
- Accountability: You can’t enforce policies or detect abuse if you don’t know who’s responsible.
- Continuous Validation: Ownership isn’t static. M&A, reorgs, and attrition mean you need a system to regularly confirm and recertify account owners.
The SC World article gets this exactly right: “Treating identity as a core strategy means embedding it into business decision-making—not just IT workflows.” This is where many organizations fall short, and why ownership must become a business priority.
The SPHEREboard Approach: Solving the Ownership Gap
At SPHERE, we’ve built SPHEREboard from the ground up to address the real, practical challenges of identity ownership. Our platform doesn’t just inventory accounts or check entitlements—it continuously discovers, validates, and recertifies ownership for every human, service, and non-human identity in your environment.
This is not just automation for its own sake. When ownership is front and center:
- Access reviews aren’t just an annual fire drill—they’re ongoing and actionable.
- Privileged accounts aren’t lost in the shuffle—they have real human owners who are accountable.
- Gaps don’t hide for years—they’re surfaced and resolved before they become breach headlines.
Why It Matters—For Retail, Finance, Healthcare, and Beyond
Whether you’re managing a sprawling retail operation, a complex supply chain, or a global bank, the principle is the same: Identity is the new perimeter. Ownership is your first—and last—line of defense.
The SC World article puts it bluntly: “Failing to treat identity as strategy is a business risk, not just a technical one.” We couldn’t agree more. At SPHERE, we’re on a mission to make ownership real, actionable, and strategic.
Want to see how SPHEREboard can transform your approach to identity?
Let’s talk about how we can help you bring ownership to the core of your security strategy by requesting your free Intelligent Discovery Report
