Embracing next-gen identity security to entice top talent


Jason Stevens
Contributor

Attracting and keeping world-class talent in a post-pandemic world is transforming identity security programs with a hyper focus on treating employees on the same level as customers, irrespective of location or time zone.  

With 50-year lows for unemployment at 3.4 per cent in Australia, organisations are driving digital transformation initiatives to attract top-notch talent.   

According to Gartner, board directors confirm that digital embeds itself in all business growth strategies, with identity management arguably one of the centrepieces.  

The next generation of cloud governance programs aims to surpass the limitations of previous awkward IT security systems and allow employees to work in flexible hybrid and remote environments that feel like consumer-facing ecosystems.  

MYOB digital experience head Martin Longley, InnovationAus.com Publisher Corrie McLeod, and SailPoint A/NZ country manager Nam Lam.

This emphasis on simplicity, fluidity, and speed is crucial to talent acquisition, particularly when onboarding new employees from their desired location and time zone.    

InnovationAus.com partnered with identity security management leader SailPoint to explore these themes in the opening episode of Identity Inside/Out: Getting ID Right – a video podcast series that explores how organisations today are going to secure their virtual borders against the attacks of tomorrow 

This episode, The Future of Work: Security in the Age of the Distributed Workforce featuresSailPoint’sAustralia and New Zealand country manager, Nam Lam, and Head of Digital Experience for MYOB, Martin Longley, in discussion with InnovationAus.com Publisher, Corrie McLeod. 

An essential step in satisfying a seamless, frictionless experience for impatient users groomed on fast-loading, easy-to-use digital consumer products is the move toward passwordless authentication and access management.   

These edgeless environments incorporate the latest biometric sensors and facial and thumbprint recognition technology, fully supported by robust analytics and data intelligence to continually improve employee user experience. 

SailPoint’s latest SaaS governance software allows brands to maximise productivity while minimising access privileges – ultimately optimising impact for workers across the globe.  

“It’s a very competitive landscape: creating these flexible, simple digital ecosystems is critical for us to attract top talent to our technology business built on intellectual property,” Mr Longley said.  

Australasian organisations are now pursuing digital transformation in equal measure for internal customers and external employees.  

“We need to do this as quickly as possible. The perimeter is now the user, and anyone can work from anywhere at any time, forcing companies to evolve and address instant access,” Mr Lam said. 

Digitising the employee journey and allowing effortless self-provisioning during the onboarding process remains challenging since many inbound workers work multiple jobs, often in the gig economy.   

Giving them a frictionless experience and maximum flexibility that matches their experiences in other ecosystems demands a passionate focus on understanding the persona and desires of remote workers.      

Companies like Salesforce and Atlassian are pioneering remote working models built on instant access, speed, and scale. They generally find equal or more significant gains in productivity by giving employees the freedom to choose when and where they wish to work. 

The latest advances in identity security are a cornerstone in employee relationship-building for Australasian brands fighting for talent in the competitive labor pool. Some companies like MYOB are adopting nuanced approaches to the challenge. 

“While we support hybrid work environments, we decided a blended approach to talent acquisition and retention suits us better,” Mr Longley said. “We want people to return to the office to build connections and help them be more productive when working remotely.” 

Organisations across Australia and New Zealand are operating in a world of constant disruption, with identity management promising to give them a competitive edge, especially for younger generations used to effortless user experiences on Apple and Android mobile platforms.   

However, while the above requires speed and scale, it must operate in a zero trust environment with a robust cybersecurity posture.  

These two goals are often at odds to one another, but failure to marry the two risks limiting business growth and losing A+ talent to a local or global competitor.  

InnovationAus.com has produced this video podcast series in partnership with SailPoint. For more information and to access SailPoint’s report, The state of identity in ANZ, visit https://www.sailpoint.com/identity-library/identity-australia-nz/. 

Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.

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