How HCLTech-SailPoint alliance is bringing AI-led identity security to Indian firms

As enterprises accelerate AI adoption and scale across hybrid and multicloud environments, the traditional security perimeter is steadily fading. In this redefined landscape, identity — not the network — is emerging as the enterprise’s primary control plane. Every employee login, API exchange, AI agent action and third-party connection now represents a potential point of access, positioning identity governance at the heart of cyber resilience.

The urgency is reflected in national and industry data. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team has flagged millions of cybersecurity incidents in recent years, with compromised credentials, phishing and unauthorised access among the leading causes. Meanwhile, the latest IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report estimates the average cost of a breach in India at ₹220 million, marking a 13% year-on-year rise.

That said, identity security is no longer a back-end IT function - it is fast becoming mission-critical infrastructure. It is against this backdrop that SailPoint and HCLTech have deepened their strategic partnership to deliver modern identity security at enterprise scale in the age of AI - combining SailPoint’s AI-driven identity platform, Atlas, with HCLTech’s cybersecurity delivery capabilities and its Managed Identity-as-a-Service (MiDaaS) framework.

From fragmented IAM to continuous governance

“Large enterprises don’t lack identity tools; they struggle with scale, fragmentation and operational complexity,” says Amit Jain, EVP and Global Head of Cybersecurity at HCLTech. “Most CIOs inherit fragmented identity implementations with inconsistent policies and limited visibility.”

While SailPoint brings what Jain calls a “market-leading, AI-driven digital identity platform,” identity in large enterprises spans heterogeneous environments — users, applications, data, third parties and now AI agents. “Together, the partnership addresses a gap neither could solve alone: turning identity from a deployed product into a continuously governed, enterprise-wide control plane, embedded into operations, compliance and business workflows,” he says.

Matt Mills, President of SailPoint, underscores the structural shift underway. “Large enterprises often struggle to transition from outdated, siloed identity and access management systems to modern, cloud-based platforms due to the complexity and sheer scale of their environments,” he says. At the same time, the “identity perimeter” has expanded to include human, machine and AI agent identities — making real-time monitoring and compliance significantly harder.

Through the partnership, HCLTech provides global delivery teams, certified identity consultants and proven methodologies to implement and scale SailPoint’s unified identity platform across complex global enterprises. Its MiDaaS framework embeds identity governance into ongoing managed service delivery, enabling what Mills describes as “continuous, risk-aware governance.”

“HCLTech’s MiDaaS embeds identity governance into managed service delivery, helping provide continuous protection with zero trust-aligned identity controls in place to govern access for all identities, including AI agents,” Mills explains. “With SailPoint’s cutting-edge technologies and HCLTech’s deep implementation expertise and managed services ecosystem, enterprises can reduce complexities, manage risk better and improve compliance.”

Making Zero Trust operational

Zero Trust remains widely discussed but unevenly implemented in India. According to Jain, the issue is not awareness but execution.

“The challenge is less about awareness and more about operationalising identity at scale,” he says. “Many enterprises focus on network or perimeter controls while digital identity remains fragmented across legacy and modern systems. Without lifecycle governance and continuous enforcement, Zero Trust remains theoretical.”

The joint approach introduces a structured, lifecycle-driven execution model covering joiners, movers, leavers, third-party access and privileged identities. “Through MiDaaS, identity governance becomes operational, continuously monitored and measurable — enabling unified digital access rather than isolated deployments,” Jain adds.

Measurable impact in 12–18 months

Both companies point to tangible outcomes within the first year to 18 months of deployment.

“Enterprises can expect a quantifiable decrease in high-risk access entitlements through automated access reviews and policy enforcement,” says Mills. He adds that organisations will gain enhanced visibility into user access across systems, faster detection and response through AI-driven risk analytics, and streamlined onboarding and offboarding processes.

Other expected outcomes include automated access certification campaigns, simplified audit preparation through comprehensive audit trails and improved compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA and SOX — alongside lower compliance costs driven by automation.

Jain too notes that enterprises “typically see meaningful reduction in access-related risk, particularly around over-privileged and orphaned identities.” Audit readiness improves through centralised reporting, while incident response becomes faster and more precise as identity insights integrate into security operations.

“Operational overhead reduces as governance is automated and managed through MiDaaS and reusable accelerators, allowing security teams to focus on higher-value outcomes,” he says.

Governing AI agents and machine identities

A major blind spot, Mills warns, is the explosion of non-human identities. “Enterprises are overlooking risks associated with the explosion of non-human identities and failing to govern them with the same rigour used to govern human identities,” he says. Machine identities are now among the fastest-growing attack surfaces, and many organisations continue to rely on manual lifecycle processes that are inefficient and error-prone.

Traditional IAM models — largely static and compliance-focused — are no longer sufficient. “Modern identity security must govern all identity types, including human, non-employees, non-human, GenAI models and AI agents,” Mills argues.

SailPoint’s approach centres on what it calls an adaptive identity model. “Adaptive identity is about securing enterprises efficiently and effectively in a dynamic world,” he says. “It is an evolution of identity security designed for the realities of AI, where identity management continuously learns, decides and acts across every human, machine and AI interaction.”

Unlike static controls, adaptive identity uses real-time authorisation and dynamic signals — such as location, device health and behaviour — to evaluate access. “If a user’s credentials are stolen, the system can instantly revoke or escalate privileges based on these anomalies,” Mills explains. “It is the way forward that will define the next era of enterprise security: security that moves as fast as the enterprise it protects.”

Identity as the foundation of digital trust

Looking ahead, Jain sees identity-led security becoming foundational to India’s digital economy, especially as critical industries navigate regulatory and geopolitical pressures.

“This partnership helps establish digital identity as the foundation of digital trust, supported by scalable governance models, managed services and IP-led execution,” he says. “As AI adoption grows, identity-led security will be essential to ensure sustainable progress — enabling innovation while maintaining control, compliance and resilience.”

In an AI-driven enterprise landscape where humans, machines and autonomous agents coexist, the SailPoint–HCLTech collaboration signals a broader shift: from reactive IAM deployments to continuous, intelligence-driven identity governance — positioning identity not as a support function, but as the backbone of cyber resilience.