FEATURE IDENTITY SECURITY
hHow is Okta embedding AI into its identity platform, and what tangible benefits can regional channel partners take to market today? When people hear‘ AI in security’ they often expect something abstract. With identity, it’ s actually very practical. Okta is using AI to help customers spot risky access sooner, reduce manual investigation and tighten governance without slowing the business down.
For partners in the region, the‘ go to market’ story is simple: you can package this into outcomes customers care about right now – fewer account takeovers, faster incident response and cleaner audit readiness. That naturally becomes offerings like managed identity threat detection, secure access upgrades and Governance- as-a-Service.
Generative AI is accelerating identity-based attacks. How should partners in the Middle East evolve their services to address these risks?
What’ s changing is the speed and the believability of attacks. Deepfake voice notes, executive impersonation, automated credential testing – these aren’ t edge cases anymore.
So partners need to evolve from‘ we implemented identity’ to‘ we continuously protect identity’. That means pushing customers toward phishing-resistant sign-in, tightening account recovery and critically having a clear identity incident playbook.
AI-driven identity governance and threat detection are becoming differentiators. What new revenue opportunities do you see for MSSPs and SIs?
This is where partners can really build recurring value. The first opportunity is straightforward: Managed ITDR monitor identity signals, tune policies, investigate anomalies and help contain incidents. The second is governance: many organisations struggle to answer a basic question –’ who has access to what, and should they?’ Partners can turn that into an ongoing service with regular access reviews, lifecycle controls and audit reporting. And then there’ s privileged access modernisation. In most breaches, the story eventually touches privileged credentials. Partners who can wrap strong access, governance and ongoing monitoring into one programme will do very well.
With GCC governments investing heavily in AI strategies, how can partners align identity security with national AI ambitions while ensuring compliance and data sovereignty?
The way I frame it is: National AI ambitions depend on trust. If citizens, regulators and enterprises don’ t trust how access is controlled, AI adoption slows down.
Partners can align by positioning identity as the control layer for AI – who can use AI tools, who can access sensitive datasets, and how that access is logged and governed. On compliance and sovereignty, the expectation in the GCC is clear: Be
As AI reshapes the threat landscape, identity security is becoming a critical control layer for protecting users, systems and data across increasingly automated environments. Mahmoud Ahmed, Regional Sales Director at Okta, tells us how AI-powered identity governance, threat detection and protection for both human and non-human identities are creating new opportunities for channel partners to deliver managed security services and support the Gulf’ s Digital Transformation ambitions.
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