As concerns about the risks posed by AI agents escalate, identity and access management leader Okta is positioning itself as a potential frontrunner in this evolving cybersecurity domain. CEO and co-founder Todd McKinnon underscored the company's strategic stance during a recent earnings call, stating, “Identity is the primary control plane for securing AI.” He expressed confidence that customers view Okta as well-placed to navigate the complexities of future identity management for AI-driven entities.
Central to Okta's strategy is the launch of Okta for AI Agents, which is designed to manage and secure these agentic identities. This platform aims to provide a foundational approach for safeguarding the enterprise landscape as AI integrations increase. During the annual Oktane conference, Okta introduced several enhancements to tackle agentic risks, including an expanded Agent SSO identity model, new rules governing agent interactions, and enhanced policy enforcement capabilities.
However, experts caution that even with rigorous identity verification, AI agents can still act unpredictably, raising concerns about the efficacy of identity management alone. Aisling Dawson, an analyst at ABI Research, notes that “Identity in itself is not the largest problem in the agentic world,” asserting that authentication represents just the initial hurdle. The transition from managing human to agentic identities poses unique challenges, particularly since AI agents operate on a scale and complexity that far exceed human parameters.
Competitors specializing in non-human identity management may have an advantage here, given that they are accustomed to tackling the specific hurdles linked to agent identities, such as multi-hop delegation. Recent incidents, including the Hugging Face hack, highlight the urgency for improved security governance, behavioral monitoring, and permission management within this sphere.
Ric Smith, Okta’s president of products and technology, echoed these sentiments during a media briefing, pointing out that many security breaches could have been mitigated with greater adherence to basic security protocols. He further emphasized that diminished reliance on persistent credentials could enhance security efficacy, asserting that “the complexity of agentic AI can distract us from fundamental security principles necessary for a secure enterprise.” Additionally, Okta's new agentic gateway aims to address some vulnerabilities exposed by prior attacks.
The Growing Demand for Agentic Security Solutions
According to Gartner's projections, the average Fortune 500 company will deploy over 150,000 AI agents by 2028, a substantial increase from under 15 in 2025. The increasing integration of AI agents into corporate infrastructures necessitates a focused approach to security. High-profile incidents have cast a spotlight on the urgent need for protections against AI agents being compromised or misused.
The market for AI security is set for significant growth, expected to reach $2.8 billion in 2027, illustrating an 83% hike from 2025. Comparatively, the identity security market stands larger and more established, with a reported valuation of $29 billion in 2025, projected to expand to $56 billion by 2029. The overlap between these two sectors suggests a fiercely competitive battleground.
Major players like Microsoft, Ping, and Okta are adapting their frameworks to extend beyond human identity management to encompass AI agents. Furthermore, acquisitions highlight the strategic movements within this space; companies like Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike are acquiring firms to bolster their identity management capabilities. This trend indicates a collective acknowledgment of the impending demand for comprehensive agent security solutions.
As the market evolves, IDC analyst Emanuel Figueroa posits that both identity vendors and cloud service providers recognize a lucrative opportunity to establish themselves as central controllers of autonomous agents. He points out that agents operate based on credentials and access permissions, raising the question of which providers enterprises will ultimately trust to effectively manage agent activities at scale.
Okta appears to enjoy a competitive advantage over titans like Microsoft, primarily due to its agnostic stance on identity solutions. Dawson notes that the demand for reduced vendor lock-in offers a favorable proposition for Okta, bolstered by considerations surrounding data sovereignty. As organizations seek to minimize the complexity of managing multiple dashboards, Okta's focus on identity and platform independence positions it well amidst increasing market challenges, according to Forrester's Geoff Cairns.
