Identity Software

In today’s digital world, identity is everything. From logging into apps to enforcing Zero Trust policies, managing who can access what—and when—is at the core of modern security and user experience. That’s where identity software comes in.

Identity software enables organizations to manage digital identities and control access to systems, applications, and data. It forms the foundation for authentication, authorization, identity governance, and secure user experiences.

What is identity software?

Identity software is a category of technology designed to manage the full lifecycle of digital identities—creating, authenticating, authorizing, and governing access for users, devices, and services. It ensures that only the right individuals can access the right resources at the right times, and for the right reasons. From employees logging into internal systems to customers accessing online services, identity software plays a foundational role in making these interactions secure, consistent, and efficient.

Modern identity software goes beyond basic access control. It integrates with directories, enforces policies across multiple platforms, and enables compliance with regulatory standards. As organizations adopt more cloud-based services and distributed architectures, identity software must also evolve to handle increasingly complex environments. For example, orchestration platforms, a new type of identity software, provide a layer of intelligence that connects and coordinates fragmented identity systems without requiring disruptive rewrites or migrations.

Understanding identity software

At its core, identity software solves a critical problem: ensuring that the right people have the right access at the right time. It does this by centralizing how digital identities are created, managed, and secured across an organization’s technology stack.

Key components of identity software

Before diving deeper, let’s break down the major components you’ll typically find in an identity solution:

• Authentication – Verifying a user’s identity when they attempt to log in.

• Authorization – Controlling what resources a user can access once authenticated.

• Identity lifecycle management – Creating, updating, and deactivating user accounts.

• Directory services – Storing identity data in a central or federated repository.

• Access governance – Ensuring compliance with internal policies and external regulations.

These features enable organizations to manage access securely and efficiently. But in complex environments with multiple identity systems, things can get messy fast.

Why identity software matters now more than ever

The stakes for identity have never been higher. Cyberattacks are increasingly targeting identity infrastructure, and regulatory compliance depends heavily on proper access governance. Meanwhile, users expect smooth login experiences, whether they’re employees or customers.

Traditional identity systems weren’t built to handle the complexity of today’s environments. Hybrid work, cloud-native apps, and rapid M&A activity have pushed identity infrastructure to the limit.

That’s why identity software needs to evolve—and why Strata’s orchestration model is gaining traction with forward-thinking security and IT leaders.

Identity orchestration allows you to:

• Bridge old and new identity systems without friction.

• Avoid vendor lock-in and regain control of your identity architecture.

• Future-proof your security posture as your environment grows more complex.

In short, identity software is the engine that powers secure digital access. And with orchestration, that engine runs a lot more smoothly across the entire enterprise.

It’s no longer just a back-office IT tool — it’s a strategic enabler for security, compliance, and digital transformation. As organizations juggle multiple identity providers and move critical workloads to the cloud, the need for orchestration is clear.

If you’re ready to rethink how identity software works in your organization, Strata is a great place to start. Download Identity Orchestration for Dummies today.