The 7 Costly Mistakes Companies Make
When Selecting an IAM Vendor
Real data. Named breaches. Verified statistics. A practitioner checklist for each mistake. Written for CISOs, security architects, and IAM program owners navigating a major platform decision.
Every statistic in this guide is cited by source. We flag when figures originate from vendor-commissioned research. We do not use unverifiable claims.
$4.88M
Average identity-related breach cost
IBM 2024
144:1
NHI-to-human identity ratio in enterprises
NHIMG 2025
50%+
IAM projects fail the first time
Gartner/Idenhaus
28%
Organizations with IAM policy integrated into their platform
Ponemon/GuidePoint 2025
What's inside
Each mistake includes real-world breach evidence, verified statistics cited by source, a practical checklist, and the specific demo question that experienced IAM buyers ask ā and inexperienced buyers never think to ask.
01
Evaluating vendors before documenting requirements
02
Anchoring to the license fee and ignoring total cost
03
Using analyst quadrants as a vendor selection tool
04
Skipping compliance mapping until after contract signature
05
Not accounting for non-human identity in the selection scope
06
Underestimating vendor lock-in and migration cost
07
Declaring go-live without defining operational success
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