LastPass by LogMeIn released findings of a new report conducted in partnership with Vanson Bourne to understand how IT and security professionals across a variety of industries including finance, IT and media are managing their identity and access management (IAM) programs. The findings reveal that IAM priorities differ by industry vertical, emphasizing how a one-size-fits-all approach to IAM doesn’t work when every industry and business within that industry is unique.

Each industry vertical has unique business needs, and as a result has different areas of focus when it comes to their IAM program. Key findings from the report include:

Finance is Focused on Reducing Risk, While Integrating Their IAM Infrastructure

Financial service organizations deal with higher stakes than most verticals, which inevitably impacts how they manage employee access and authentication. 35 percent of IT professionals in this industry say hackers have gained access to their organizations in the past, which is not surprising given financial institutions experience the highest cybercrime costs out of all verticals at an average of $18.3 million per year. According to the report, 70 percent of IT professionals in the finance industry say that reducing risk is a top priority and 65 percent state that integrating security infrastructure is their biggest area for improvement.

IT is Focused on the Security Benefits of IAM And Prioritizes Multifactor Authentication

As information technology businesses are close to IAM software and managing customer’s data, it’s clear their relationship with technology impacts their IAM strategy. 77 percent in this industry say securing data is their top priority, while improving identity and access management is less of a focus with 61 percent noting that as a priority. 28 percent of IT and security professionals in this industry said they are planning to invest in multifactor authentication (MFA) solutions which will help address their security challenges because MFA helps ensure only the right employees are able to access sensitive data.

Media Needs a Secure, Automated Way to Manage User Access

Mass communication companies work with an array of external consultants to execute their programs, which leads to a wide array of users, both internally and externally, accessing business resources which complicates IAM. 34 percent of IT professionals in this industry say managing user access is important to their organization, compared to the overall average of all industries (9 percent). 44 percent say end users are demanding an easier to use solution and 49 percent say automating IAM processes is an area for improvement.

“Finance is focused on reducing risk and integrations, IT is prioritizing the security components of IAM, whereas media is focused on improving employee productivity.,” said John Bennett, General Manager, Identity and Access Management Business Unit at LogMeIn. “It’s clear that flexibility, breadth of functionality and ease of use are critical so businesses can customize their IAM strategy in alignment with their business objectives. Organizations need to evaluate what their business needs are and build their IAM strategy based on those requirements.”