Enterprises today are under pressure to secure identities, reduce risk, and prove compliance—without slowing down the business. Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) sits at the center of this challenge. The right IGA solution helps you answer:

• Who has access?
• Should they have it?
• What are they doing with it?
• How do we enforce policies and prove compliance?

This guide outlines the challenges with legacy IGA, what to look for in a modern solution, how BalkanID delivers a fresh approach built for today’s identity & access needs, and a comparison of leading IGA tools.

The Challenge with Traditional IGA

While critical for compliance, most IGA systems struggle to keep pace with modern identity security needs. Organizations face:

• Slow Joiner/Mover/Leaver events – Delayed provisioning and deprovisioning hurt productivity and increase risk.
• Stale, sprawling roles – Outdated RBAC models and role explosion lead to inconsistent access.
• Over-privileged accounts – Too much standing access creates risk of insider threats or accidental exposure.
• Manual policy setup – Segregation of Duties (SoD) and constraints require constant manual upkeep.
• Audit pain – Demonstrating compliance takes weeks of effort and is prone to errors.
• Heavy reporting burden – Analysts waste time coding scripts and stitching spreadsheets.
• Limited integrations – Many IGAs never reach full application coverage, even after years.
• Reluctance to replace – High sunk costs keep organizations tied to legacy tools, even if they underperform.

What to Look For in a Modern IGA

When evaluating IGA platforms, prioritize capabilities that deliver real security and business outcomes, not just check-the-box compliance.

1. Comprehensive Identity Graph
2. A single, real-time source of truth for people, applications, entitlements, and activity across SaaS, IaaS, on-prem, HRIS, IAM, and Service Desk.
3. AI-Powered Role Mining
4. Continuously refresh RBAC and ABAC postures by combining HR data, entitlements, and behavioral patterns. Prevent role sprawl and enable least privilege.
5. Policy Automation
6. Automatically generate and enforce SoD rules, constraints, and policies instead of hardcoding them manually.
7. Zero Trust Alignment
8. Support least privilege through purpose-based and Just-in-Time (JIT) access models that adapt to changing contexts.
9. Natural Language Access
10. Copilot-style interfaces so admins and reviewers aren’t limited by rigid dashboards or predefined filters. They can ask open-ended questions—even when they don’t know what to look for—and get answers.
11. Continuous Risk Monitoring & Playbooks
12. Detect over-entitlements, toxic combinations, and suspicious activity in real time. Automate remediation with playbooks, similar to SOAR in security operations.
13. Flexible Deployment & Integration
14. Work as a standalone IGA or layer on top of existing tools (Okta, Entra, SailPoint, ServiceNow, etc.) with API-first, headless deployment options.
15. Audit-Ready Reporting
16. Generate contextual, customized reports automatically. Replace weeks of manual effort with natural language-driven reporting.

The BalkanID Advantage

BalkanID reimagines IGA by combining an Identity Graph with AI-driven analytics and a natural language Copilot.

• Identity Graph + AI – Unifies HR, IAM, SaaS, IaaS, Service Desk, and legacy IGA data into a real-time model.
• Intelligent Role Mining – Auto-generate minimal, least-privilege roles and continuously keep them fresh.
• Policy & Constraint Automation – Dynamically build SoD and other access policies based on observed patterns.
• Lifecycle Automation – Automate joiner, mover, and leaver workflows with event-driven playbooks.
• Optimized Access Reviews – Prioritize risky entitlements, reduce rubber-stamping, and accelerate certifications.
• Headless Deployment – Expose all capabilities through APIs and SDKs for seamless integration into existing systems.
• Copilot Interface – Ask natural language questions, run playbooks, and generate reports without technical expertise.

Outcomes for Customers

With BalkanID, organizations achieve:

• Improved Security – Eliminate excess entitlements and prevent insider risks.
• Increased Productivity – Give employees the right access quickly, without bottlenecks.
• Audit Confidence – Always-on compliance evidence at your fingertips.
• Operational Efficiency – Free analysts from manual report building and repetitive reviews.
• Future-Proof Flexibility – Deploy standalone, or augment existing IGAs to maximize prior investments.

Common Use Cases

• Identity & Entitlement Discovery – Gain unified visibility across all apps and systems.
• RBAC Modernization – Refresh and maintain roles with automated, AI-powered role mining.
• Access Reviews – Risk-prioritized certifications with contextual recommendations.
• Lifecycle Management – Automate JML provisioning and deprovisioning.
• Privileged Access Oversight – Detect and control standing admin and elevated entitlements.
• SoD & Policy Enforcement – Auto-generate and enforce guardrails across the organization.
• Headless Identity Ops – Embed identity governance into operational workflows via APIs.

Top IGA Tools Compared

As organizations expand, adopt more SaaS, and face increasing regulatory pressure, choosing the right Identity Governance & Administration (IGA) platform has become mission-critical. The right solution isn’t just about compliance—it’s about enabling secure, scalable, and efficient access governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Here are the top IGA tools to consider:

1. BalkanID

BalkanID is an intelligent, modern IGA platform that combines graph-based analytics with AI and a natural language Copilot. Designed for security analysts, risk managers, and reviewers, it works standalone or alongside legacy IGAs, providing flexibility without forcing a rip-and-replace.

2. ConductorOne

ConductorOne offers a modern governance platform with a focus on fast, automated access requests and reviews. Its Unified Identity Graph supports JIT access and lifecycle use cases.

3. Zilla Security

Zilla provides a unified governance platform with strong compliance automation, real-time risk alerts, and AI-driven role discovery.

4. Zluri

Zluri is primarily a SaaS management platform but extends into IGA with UAR and provisioning features.

5. Veza

Veza focuses on authorization graphing and fine-grained permissions visibility, supporting both human and non-human identities.

6. Saviynt

Saviynt is an enterprise-grade IGA platform with advanced compliance, lifecycle, and analytics capabilities.

7. SailPoint

A recognized IGA market leader, SailPoint offers mature access certifications, SoD controls, and lifecycle governance.

8. Okta (OIG)

Okta extends its IAM/SSO dominance with governance features through OIG.

9. Microsoft Entra

Entra Identity Governance extends Azure AD/Entra ID with compliance and UAR features.

10. Pathlock

Pathlock is built for enterprises with strict audit and SoD needs, offering fine-grained controls and real-time dashboards.

11. SecurEnds

SecurEnds is a cloud-first IGA and UAR platform with extensive connector options, including RPA for legacy apps.

Buyer Takeaways

When selecting an IGA solution, keep in mind:

• Legacy IGAs are too rigid and manual-heavy—look for automation and intelligence.
• Your IGA must evolve with your business: AI-driven, context-aware, and Zero Trust aligned.
• Usability matters: reviewers, auditors, and admins should get answers instantly, not wrestle with dashboards.
• Flexibility is critical: augment existing systems or replace them—on your timeline.

About BalkanID

BalkanID is a modern intelligent identity security and governance company. Our mission is to help organizations reduce identity risk, achieve compliance, and enable Zero Trust through automation, analytics, and seamless integration.

Learn more at balkan.id.