Introduction
Identity governance has long been a cornerstone of enterprise security, ensuring that the right people have the right access to the right resources at the right time. For decades, the focus has been on human users—employees, contractors, partners—whose identities are managed through traditional identity and access management (IAM) systems. Yet the digital landscape is evolving at a pace that outstrips the pace of human-centric governance models. Autonomous AI agents, robotic process automation bots, and other non‑human actors are now integral to business processes, from data ingestion and analytics to decision‑making and customer interaction. These agentic identities operate with a level of autonomy that blurs the line between human intent and machine execution, creating new security, compliance, and operational challenges.
Omada A/S, a global leader in Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), has recognized this shift and announced a long‑term strategic vision that extends governance beyond humans to encompass the rapidly expanding universe of non‑human and agentic identities. By positioning itself at the intersection of identity management and emerging AI capabilities, Omada aims to provide enterprises with a comprehensive framework that ensures secure, compliant, and auditable operations in an era where autonomous agents are not just tools but partners in the business ecosystem.
This blog post explores the implications of Omada’s vision, the technical and organizational hurdles it seeks to address, and how enterprises can prepare for a future where identity governance must account for both people and the intelligent systems that act on their behalf.
The Rise of Agentic AI and the Need for Expanded Identity Governance
The term agentic AI refers to autonomous systems that can perceive, reason, and act within an environment without continuous human oversight. From chatbots that handle customer inquiries to algorithmic trading bots that execute high‑frequency trades, these agents are becoming ubiquitous. Their proliferation is driven by advances in machine learning, natural language processing, and cloud‑native architectures that enable rapid deployment and scaling.
However, the autonomy that makes these agents valuable also introduces new vulnerabilities. Unlike human users, who can be trained and monitored through behavioral analytics, autonomous agents can execute a sequence of actions that, if misconfigured or compromised, can lead to cascading failures. For instance, an AI‑driven data pipeline that automatically ingests external data sources could inadvertently introduce malicious data into a corporate data lake if the agent’s access controls are not properly defined.
Traditional identity governance frameworks are ill‑suited to manage such scenarios because they are built around static role‑based access control (RBAC) models that assume a human actor at the top of the hierarchy. In contrast, agentic identities often require dynamic, context‑aware permissions that adapt to the agent’s current task, environment, and risk profile. Moreover, regulatory frameworks such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX are increasingly scrutinizing the actions of automated systems, demanding that organizations demonstrate accountability for every access event, regardless of whether it was initiated by a person or a machine.
The convergence of these factors—technical complexity, regulatory pressure, and the need for operational resilience—creates a compelling case for an expanded identity governance paradigm that treats human and agentic identities on equal footing.
Omada’s Strategic Vision for Inclusive Governance
Omada’s long‑term vision is anchored in the principle that governance should be identity‑agnostic. This means that the same set of policies, controls, and audit mechanisms apply to any entity that can request access to enterprise resources, whether that entity is a human employee, a service account, or an autonomous AI agent.
To operationalize this vision, Omada is developing a suite of capabilities that address the unique challenges posed by agentic identities:
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Dynamic Policy Engine – A policy engine that can evaluate access requests in real time based on contextual attributes such as the agent’s current task, the sensitivity of the data, and the risk level of the environment. This engine replaces static role assignments with fluid, attribute‑based access control (ABAC) rules that can be fine‑tuned for each agent.
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Agent Identity Lifecycle Management – A lifecycle framework that tracks the creation, activation, modification, and retirement of agent identities. By treating agent accounts as first‑class citizens in the identity ecosystem, organizations can enforce the same provisioning and deprovisioning rigor that applies to human users.
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Behavioral Analytics for Machines – Machine‑learning models that monitor the behavior of autonomous agents, flagging anomalies such as sudden changes in data access patterns or deviations from approved workflows. These models provide an additional layer of assurance that an agent is operating within its intended scope.
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Audit and Compliance Reporting – Comprehensive audit trails that capture every access event, including the agent’s identity, the resource accessed, the context of the request, and the outcome. These logs feed into compliance dashboards that satisfy regulators’ demands for traceability.
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Governance as Code – By exposing governance policies through APIs and infrastructure‑as‑code tools, Omada enables organizations to embed identity controls directly into their deployment pipelines. This approach ensures that as new agents are provisioned, they inherit the appropriate governance posture automatically.
Collectively, these capabilities form a cohesive ecosystem that extends Omada’s proven IGA expertise into the realm of autonomous systems. The company’s approach is not merely to add new features but to re‑architect the governance model so that it is inherently scalable, adaptable, and compliant.
Practical Implications for Enterprises
Adopting an identity governance strategy that includes agentic identities requires a shift in both mindset and practice. Enterprises must first inventory all non‑human actors that interact with critical systems—service accounts, API keys, bot identities, and any other automated entities. This inventory often reveals a hidden layer of access that has been granted without formal oversight.
Once identified, organizations can apply Omada’s dynamic policy engine to enforce least‑privilege access. For example, an AI‑driven recommendation engine that consumes customer data can be granted read‑only access to a curated dataset, while a separate analytics bot that writes aggregated metrics can be restricted to a write‑only scope on a different data store. By coupling these permissions with behavioral analytics, the organization can detect if the recommendation engine begins accessing data outside its intended scope, triggering an alert or automatic revocation.
Another practical consideration is the integration of identity governance with existing DevOps pipelines. As new agents are provisioned through infrastructure‑as‑code, governance policies can be applied declaratively, ensuring that every new identity is governed from the moment of creation. This eliminates the risk of orphaned accounts that bypass governance controls.
Compliance teams also benefit from the unified audit trail. Whether an access event is initiated by a human or an agent, the logs provide the same level of detail, enabling auditors to trace the lineage of data access and verify that all actions align with regulatory requirements. This unified view simplifies reporting and reduces the administrative burden associated with disparate audit systems.
Future Outlook and Emerging Trends
The trajectory of agentic AI suggests that the number of autonomous identities will continue to grow, driven by the proliferation of micro‑services, serverless functions, and edge computing. As these systems become more sophisticated, they will need to make decisions that have significant business impact—such as approving loan applications or adjusting supply chain parameters—without human intervention.
In this context, identity governance will evolve from a static compliance function into a dynamic, risk‑aware control plane that continuously adapts to the changing threat landscape. Emerging trends such as zero trust architectures, continuous authentication, and policy‑driven automation will converge with identity governance to create a holistic security posture.
Omada’s vision positions it to lead this evolution. By embedding governance into the very fabric of agentic systems, the company is helping enterprises build resilient, compliant, and trustworthy AI ecosystems. As organizations navigate the complexities of the age of agentic AI, the need for an inclusive identity governance framework will become not just a best practice but a strategic imperative.
Conclusion
The emergence of autonomous AI agents has redefined the boundaries of who or what can access enterprise resources. Omada A/S’s strategic vision to extend identity governance beyond humans to include agentic identities is a timely response to this paradigm shift. By offering dynamic policy engines, lifecycle management, behavioral analytics, and unified audit capabilities, Omada equips organizations to manage the full spectrum of identities with the same rigor and accountability that has traditionally applied to human users.
For enterprises, the implications are profound: a more secure, compliant, and efficient operational model that can adapt to the rapid pace of AI innovation. The challenge lies in recognizing the breadth of non‑human identities, integrating governance into existing processes, and fostering a culture that values identity as a first‑class asset. Those who embrace this inclusive approach will not only mitigate risk but also unlock new opportunities for automation, agility, and competitive advantage.
Call to Action
If your organization is already deploying autonomous agents—or plans to do so in the near future—now is the time to evaluate how your identity governance framework accommodates non‑human identities. Reach out to Omada to discover how their next‑generation IGA platform can help you enforce least‑privilege access, monitor agent behavior, and maintain compliance in a world where machines are as much participants in business processes as people.
Schedule a demo, download a whitepaper, or join our upcoming webinar to learn how to build a resilient identity governance strategy that scales with your AI initiatives. Together, we can ensure that every identity—human or agentic—operates within a secure, auditable, and compliant environment.