Privileged Access is a double-edged sword. In the right hands, they are useful for modern enterprises to stay functional; they can also be used to bring the company operations to a grinding halt in the wrong hands. Securing access to such accounts is a critical process. The market continues to grow, driven by factors like rising breaches through privileged credentials, expansion of cloud and SaaS workloads requiring new privilege models, regulatory pressure, and a surge in identity/security budgets. Let us look at the likely market trends in 2026.
AI/ML incorporation: This one is really a no-brainer, considering the technology being practically present in every type of access management software. Here, the technology serves the same function. It can analyze vast amounts of data to spot anomalous behavior, such as suspicious logins and accessing privileged data outside of working hours, and issue alerts. This ability can help stop or detect attacks before they happen or create lasting damage. The machine learning capability uses the analysis to adapt to evolving threats. In addition, administrators can automate repetitive tasks like creating and revoking user accounts and assigning access levels.
Going beyond passwords: Passwords are fast becoming a major pain point. Owing to security reasons, we need to remember various passwords for all the digital systems we access every day. Recycling the passwords is…not good, and the passwords should also combine various things like numbers, letter combinations, and special characters. Password managers seemed to be a good solution, but they turn out they are not to be safe. Then you have incidents where critical passwords were found stored in plain text. All this clearly underlines the need to shift to methods not involving passwords. MFA still requires initial password entry. Passkeys, on the other hand, are an extremely good option. It does not require one to remember a password. It is a seamless process with almost no friction. We can expect more shift towards passkeys over any other form of authentication in the coming year.
According to Sanket Kadam, Senior Security Analyst at QKS Group, “As organizations face growing regulatory demands and advanced cyber risks, the Privileged Access Management (PAM) platforms are evolving into a cornerstone of enterprise security strategy, ensuring operational resilience, compliance, and trust in the digital enterprise.”
Just-in-time access: Just-in-time access can be another viable alternative. As the name suggests, it provides access only when the users need it. The privilege gets revoked after the time has passed. This strategy resolves the issue of standing privileges, lateral movements, and also reduces the attack surface and risk. The strategy also reduces insider risk, as users cannot misuse the elevated rights outside their approved, time-bound sessions. It also reinforces separation of duties (e.g., one admin can’t grant themselves unlimited access indefinitely). The stronger protection also helps in keeping compliant by ensuring stronger access management and providing clearly auditable trails needed.
More trust for zero-trust: This is another no-brainer. In times when the perimeter does NOT guarantee account safety, trusting nobody becomes the norm. Continuous verification and adaptive authentication help reduce the risk in case of an incident. However, integrating zero trust with Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) and Access Management (AM) systems is even more beneficial. This integration provides complete visibility into user activities across the organizational access stack, which helps early threat detection and mitigation by baselining user activity and flagging suspicious activities. This integration also helps eliminate siloed access management.
Taking to the cloud: Most companies across the globe are now working in multi-cloud and SaaS ecosystems. However, on-premise PAM systems, devised for static environments, struggle in today’s dynamic environments that include resources like containers, serverless functions, or auto-scaled VMs that may exist for minutes or even seconds, and credentials and permissions that are provisioned dynamically through APIs. Maintaining on-prem systems is also costlier than cloud resources. In addition, QKS Group analysts are expecting convergence of Identity & Access Management (IAM), PAM, and CIEM (Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management) into unified identity security platforms. Cloud-native PAM is best suited for such software.
Final word: Privileged Access Management (PAM) continues to be a necessary evil. However, security leaders can sidestep most of the minefield by opting for JIT access, Zero Standing Privileges, and unified identity platforms. Adoption of these strategies will allow them to be better positioned to reduce risk, enforce compliance, and protect both human and machine identities across increasingly complex environments.