The User Authentication market is no longer a slow-moving domain reserved for MFA checkboxes and login screens. In a digital-first world where identity is the new perimeter, authentication has become the front line of security. And in 2024, it’s not just about verifying who you are, it’s about how and when you prove it, with context and behavior driving every decision.
As digital threats escalate and identity becomes the primary attack surface, QKS Groups SPARK Matrix™ for User Authentication, across 2023 and 2024, offers a telling view of how the market is evolving, which vendors are pulling ahead, and which are at risk of becoming obsolete.
Here’s a deep dive into what changed, why it matters, and who’s shaping the future of authentication.
The Cornerstones of Leadership
2023:
The 2023 SPARK Matrix captured a market leaning heavily into passwordless adoption, basic risk-based access, and stronger mobile-first authentication. Vendors like Entrust, Ping Identity, Okta, Thales, HID, Prove, and Facephi anchored the leadership zone, delivering a blend of traditional MFA, biometric authentication, and early behavioral analytics.
At the time, the conversation was still centered around strengthening the login moment, better passwordless experiences, smarter push notifications, and mobile onboarding.
2024:
Fast-forward to 2024, and the expectations have evolved. The leading players, still familiar names like Entrust, Ping Identity, Microsoft, HID, Thales, Prove and Okta are no longer just securing authentication. They are orchestrating identity journeys, embedding risk signals at every step, and using real-time AI-driven analytics to continuously assess trust.
The 2024 report rewards platforms that aren’t just authenticating once, but dynamically reassessing access as user behavior shifts, with compliance frameworks like GDPR, PSD2, and SCF built-in as defaults, not add-ons.
The leaders didn’t just stay on top because they had better MFA. They stayed on top because they realized early that the future of authentication isn’t a single checkpoint, it’s a continuous, context-aware conversation between user and system.
The Movers and Shakers: Who Rose, Who Fell
Microsoft stands out in 2024, climbing a bit higher in the leadership zone thanks to deeper conditional access policies across M365, Azure integrations, and real-time anomaly detection. While Microsoft had the scale and reach in 2023, it’s clear their investments in adaptive access and integrated threat protection are now paying off in serious credibility.
Facephi, the biometric specialist, solidified its presence as a Leader. Their focus on passive liveness detection, real-time fraud analytics, and document verification workflows helped move them closer to top-tier recognition. However, customer impact still trails slightly behind the technical innovation curve, as adoption scales across new verticals.
New faces like LastPass enter the 2024 leadership zone, leveraging passwordless-first identity strategies and expanding integrations into broader security ecosystems.
Microsoft, Facephi, and LastPass are proof that it’s not enough to have good technology. Growth comes from orchestration, experience design, and ecosystem integration. Those who stayed locked in single-function MFA without orchestration? They’re the ones falling out of the picture.
The Missing Players: Consolidation and Attrition
A closer look at the 2024 landscape reveals some notable absences compared to 2023.
ForgeRock, Nuance, Veridium, and ID R&D, all visible in 2023, are missing from the 2024 SPARK Matrix. Whether due to acquisitions (ForgeRock’s merger with Ping Identity), product re-alignments, or simply falling behind market expectations, their disappearance highlights how competitive and unforgiving this market has become.
Others like NuData Security, LexisNexis, Deepnet Security, Cipherise, and Intensity Analytics have also dropped out, reflecting a broader consolidation toward vendors who can deliver full-stack, compliance-ready, AI-augmented authentication platforms.
2024’s Matrix sends a clear message: if you can’t evolve from simple MFA to continuous, risk-driven identity validation, you won’t even make it onto the map.
The Strong Contenders: Staying Steady, But for How Long?
Cisco (Duo Security), Broadcom, IBM, RSA, OneSpan, Unisys and Kobil continue to hold their places in the Strong Contenders bracket in both years. They bring brand credibility, mature platforms, and stable delivery models.
But there’s a subtle warning underneath: none of them moved decisively toward leadership between 2023 and 2024. The vendors who have not significantly evolved their orchestration capabilities, adaptive risk analytics, or user experience designs risk sliding backward as customer expectations grow.
Being a Strong Contender two years in a row is respectable. But in a market this volatile, “steady” can quietly turn into “stagnant” if you’re not careful.
The Stragglers: The Gap is Widening
Vendors like SecureAuth, i-sprint innovations, Tech5, SecurEnvoy, and PointSharp continue to occupy the lower quadrants, with minimal shifts between 2023 and 2024. Limited customer impact, slow technical evolution, and a lack of differentiation in orchestration or real-time behavioral defense keep them from making meaningful progress.
At this point, basic MFA capabilities are table stakes. Vendors that haven’t expanded into orchestration, AI-driven risk profiling, and continuous authentication are already out of date, they just haven’t realized it yet.
Why These Movements Matter
The movement (or lack thereof) between the 2023 and 2024 SPARK Matrices has a larger story to tell: the definition of “good enough” authentication has changed radically over the past 12 months.
• In 2023, it was sufficient to provide secure login choices, some mobile biometrics, and MFA.
• 2024, customers expect full lifecycle orchestration, adaptive authentication flows, real-time AI insights, and embedded compliance governance.
The SPARK Matrix now reflects these new buyer expectations with brutal clarity. Leaders are no longer differentiated by who can authenticate users fast, they’re differentiated by who can continuously validate trust without slowing users down.
If you’re a buyer evaluating vendors today, watch not just for today’s quadrant placement, but for who is already thinking two years ahead.
Are you a vendor? 2024 becomes excruciatingly clear: build out or be consolidated, merged, or forgotten.
Final Thoughts
The 2024 SPARK Matrix captures a market that is accelerating faster than ever before.
Identity has become the new control plane, and authentication is no longer a gate; it’s a journey.
Entrust, Ping Identity, Okta, Microsoft, HID, Thales, and Prove are building that future, combining seamless access, zero-trust principles, risk intelligence, and compliance leadership into a single identity experience.
The others?
They’re either catching up or quietly fading into the background.
In a market where trust is dynamic and attack surfaces are expanding, only those who can orchestrate identity at speed and scale will define the next chapter of authentication.