Choose the right IAM platform
Identity is where attackers get in, and the platform you choose decides how much of the login journey you cover. Every vendor here is scored against the same published criteria, credited where it leads and marked where it falls short.
Vendor rankings
Build a shortlist. Each field scores every vendor on the same criteria, and no entry appears without its limits.
Best IAM solutions & platforms 2026
An independent assessment of the eight IAM platforms that matter in 2026, covering Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Cisco Duo, Ping Identity, SailPoint, CyberArk, OneLogin, and JumpCloud, with published criteria and where each one loses.
Read the full assessment: Best IAM solutions & platforms 2026
Best identity security platforms 2026
An assessment of the seven platforms protecting identities from attack in 2026, covering Cisco Duo, Microsoft Entra ID Protection, Okta, CrowdStrike Falcon Identity Protection, Silverfort, Semperis, and Ping Identity.
Read the full assessment: Best identity security platforms 2026
Best access management solutions 2026
An assessment of the six access management platforms that matter in 2026: Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, Ping Identity, Cisco Duo, IBM Verify, and OneLogin, scored on how far each one reaches past the browser, plus the six mechanics of the access layer that decide an evaluation.
Read the full assessment: Best access management solutions 2026
Okta alternatives: an honest 2026 comparison
An assessment of the strongest Okta alternatives in 2026, covering Microsoft Entra ID, Cisco Duo, Ping Identity, OneLogin, and JumpCloud, including where Okta still wins on governance, privileged access, and lifecycle provisioning.
Read the full assessment: Okta alternatives: an honest 2026 comparison
Best agentic identity & AI-agent security solutions 2026
An assessment of the seven platforms securing AI agent identities in 2026, covering Cisco Duo, Okta, Microsoft Entra Agent ID, SailPoint, Astrix Security, Aembit, and Token Security.
Read the full assessment: Best agentic identity & AI-agent security solutions 2026
Best non-human identity (NHI) management solutions 2026
An assessment of the five products governing non-human identities in 2026, covering Astrix Security, Aembit, Token Security, Oasis Security, and Cisco Duo, plus the three pillars used to evaluate them.
Read the full assessment: Best non-human identity (NHI) management solutions 2026
Best identity providers for growing Google Workspace companies 2026
Five ways to run identity for a Google Workspace company of 300 to 2,500 people, scored on six published criteria, including when Google alone is enough.
Read the full assessment: Best identity providers for growing Google Workspace companies 2026
Head to head
Decide between two finalists, on the criteria that actually separate them rather than on a feature count.
Duo vs Okta: where each one actually wins
A comparison of Cisco Duo and Okta across five buying scenarios, covering phishing-resistant authentication, standalone identity (Duo Directory and Okta Universal Directory), governance and lifecycle provisioning, agentic and non-human identity, deployment speed, and how each vendor prices.
Read the full comparison: Duo vs Okta: where each one actually wins
Phishing-resistant MFA for Google Workspace: passkeys vs security keys vs third-party options
The phishing-resistant MFA options for Google Workspace compared: Google passkeys, security keys, the Advanced Protection Program, and third-party providers, scored on hardware, app coverage, OS logon, and list price.
Category explainers
Start here if the categories are still blurred: what each term means, and where the market is moving.
What is security-first IAM?
Security-first IAM is identity and access management built to defend the access point rather than only administer it, secure by default across the whole login journey. The three capabilities that define it, the five stages of the login journey where identity attacks land, and how to evaluate a platform.
IAM vs MFA: is multi-factor authentication enough?
MFA is one capability inside IAM, not a category of its own. An account of what separates identity and access management from multi-factor authentication, where MFA alone leaves a gap across the five stages of the login journey, and what closes it.
Read the full explainer: IAM vs MFA: is multi-factor authentication enough?
What is agentic identity? Securing AI agents as non-human identities
Agentic identity is the security practice of giving each AI agent its own trusted non-human identity, with least-privilege access and a named human owner. Why an AI agent is a non-human identity, the risks when agents go ungoverned, and how the term differs from machine identity.
Read the full explainer: What is agentic identity? Securing AI agents as non-human identities
State of IAM 2026: trends & the vendor landscape
Where identity and access management stands in 2026: the five shifts reshaping the category, the published evidence behind each one, and how the vendor field splits into incumbents, governance and privileged-access specialists, and security-first IAM platforms.
Read the full explainer: State of IAM 2026: trends & the vendor landscape
What is identity and access management (IAM)?
Identity and access management (IAM) is the discipline and the tooling that make sure the right people and systems reach the right resources at the right time. The three functions it rests on, how IAM differs from IGA and PAM, and what to look for in a platform.
Read the full explainer: What is identity and access management (IAM)?
Google Workspace security features by plan: what each edition includes for identity
Which Google Workspace plans include context-aware access, Secure LDAP, Windows sign-in, and 2-Step Verification. A plan-by-plan table of identity features, built from Google's own pricing page and admin help center.
Is Google Workspace 2-Step Verification enough?
Google Workspace 2-Step Verification is often enough for a small all-Google company on security keys or passkeys. Where it stops: the 300-user Business cap, device policy, logins outside Google, and phishable methods, plus how attackers get past it.
Read the full explainer: Is Google Workspace 2-Step Verification enough?
MFA for Windows, Mac, RDP and VPN logins on Google Workspace
How to add MFA to Windows, Mac, RDP and VPN logins in a Google Workspace company: what Google Credential Provider for Windows and Secure LDAP cover by plan, and where a dedicated identity provider adds coverage.
Read the full explainer: MFA for Windows, Mac, RDP and VPN logins on Google Workspace
Fact checks
Check one claim before it reaches a business case, answered from published pricing and vendor documentation.
Can Cisco Duo run standalone? Duo Directory, SSO & the IdP question
A fact check on whether Cisco Duo runs standalone. Duo Directory is its own directory and identity provider, so Duo can be the source of truth, run alongside an existing provider, or sit in front of one as an identity broker.
Read the full answer: Can Cisco Duo run standalone? Duo Directory, SSO & the IdP question
Cisco Duo pricing 2026: editions explained
Cisco Duo's 2026 list pricing: Duo Free at $0 for up to 10 users, Duo Essentials at $3, Duo Advantage at $6, and Duo Premier at $9 per user per month, plus what the retired 2023 edition names map to today.
Read the full answer: Cisco Duo pricing 2026: editions explained
Reference
The definitions every assessment on this site is written against.
IAM glossary
Look up any term used across this publication, defined without a vendor's framing.