The news is out: Saviynt, the identity and governance platform provider, is hitching its wagon to Chillisoft’s distribution network in New Zealand. The aim? To carpet the enterprise and government sectors with their Enterprise Identity Cloud platform. Break out the bubbly – we’re toasted to a new era of digital security! Let’s bring a little reasonable doubt into the discussion. At long last, are we really seeing a revolution, or an elaborate — and much-needed — marketing campaign cashing in on people’s growing cyber paranoia?

Zero Trust: Real or Buzzword?

Let’s face it, “Zero Trust” has already been through the hype grinder and emerged as the cybersecurity equivalent of “organic” at the grocery store. In fact, everyone’s buzzing about it but few really understand what it actually is, outside of the promotional hype. On the application side, Saviynt touts itself as a key component of Zero Trust architectures. It delivers strong identity governance, privileged access management, and third-party risk management capabilities. Sounds impressive, right? Consider this: Zero Trust, at its core, is about decentralization of trust. It’s all about never trusting, always verifying—every user, every device, every application, every time.

Does a centralized, cloud-based platform—even one as promising as Saviynt’s—really fit with that ethos? Or does it just move the trust burden from your internal network to an external provider? It's a valid question. A truly decentralized system would have wonderful beauty. With a blockchain or other distributed ledger technology, you can place your trust in many sources, not just one vendor. And you don’t just distribute the risk — you distribute the control.

Remember the Equifax breach? One point of failure, and a mountain of sensitive data came crashing down. Yet centralization, even when proven secure by a cast of expert auditors, still poses a honey pot.

Cyber Threats Up, Hype Up Too?

Additionally, the press release points to a 58% rise in reported cyber incidents in New Zealand during Q3 2024. Phishing, unauthorized access – the usual suspects. Fear sells, plain and simple. In the cybersecurity space, fear is an extremely profitable business.

Chillisoft will be equipping its resellers with Saviynt’s solutions, ensuring customers get the localized support, training and implementation they need. Translation: they're building an army of salespeople to capitalize on the growing anxiety. Let me back up for a second, because I’m not dismissing the threats — and neither should you. They absolutely are. But are Saviynt's solutions the only answer? Are they even the best answer?

Consider the implications. This might make sense when we are discussing entrusting much of your identity protection to one vendor. What happens if they get breached? What do you think occurs when their platform goes down for the tenth time? If they chose to go off the rails and triple their prices for instance. We understand that vendor lock-in is a major issue. Organizations need to do their due diligence before leaping on the Saviynt bandwagon.

Decentralized Identity: The Real Revolution?

Here's where things get interesting. While Saviynt is focused on enterprise solutions, a parallel movement is gaining momentum: decentralized identity. Think self-sovereign identity, where individuals control their own digital identities, rather than relying on centralized authorities like governments or corporations.

Picture this—no longer are you the passive keeper of your identity under constant surveillance. It’s safely kept not just on your personal computer, but across a decentralized blockchain. You get to choose which markets have access to it, and for how many years. No more lackadaisical password management, no more unencrypted databases ready to be harvested by cybercriminals. At first glance, decentralized identity seems to offer a thrilling promise. Socially, it makes a good amount of sense as well, fitting right into the libertarian ethos of individual responsibility and control.

Will Saviynt be ready for this paradigm shift? Or will they become the Blockbuster Video of the identity security world, clinging to an outdated model while the Netflixes of decentralized identity disrupt the market? Only time will tell.

For now, though, let’s give the Saviynt & Chillisoft partnership a little bit of cautious optimism. It might indeed deliver improved security to other Kiwi companies. Let’s not confuse marketing with meaningful technology advancement. Let’s call for more transparency, better interoperability, and a focus on empowering people with more control over their digital identities. A real identity security revolution Real ID security is on the verge of taking place. It could come from a surprising champion! Are you ready for it?

  • Think critically. Don't blindly accept marketing claims.
  • Explore alternatives. Decentralized identity solutions are worth investigating.
  • Demand control. Your identity is your property.