Enterprise technology is expanding faster than security teams can keep pace. Beyond just employees and laptops, IT must now secure a sprawling web of applications, cloud systems, and a rapidly growing ecosystem of AI agents.
Managing this environment through a patchwork of disconnected tools inevitably widens security gaps. It expands the attack surface, limits real-time visibility, and creates massive administrative overhead.
To quantify the financial and operational impact of resolving this fragmentation, Okta commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study. Based on interviews with enterprise decision-makers, Forrester modeled a composite organization: a $3 billion multinational enterprise with 9,000 employees.
The Forrester study’s findings reveal that centralizing access into a single platform doesn't just plug security holes. It delivered a 216% return on investment (ROI) and a net present value (NPV) of $10.6M over three years, with a payback period of less than six months, for a composite organization based on interviewed customers.
Here are three takeaways from the study:
Centralizing access helps shrink the enterprise attack surface
Fragmented tools make real-time threat response nearly impossible. By weaving a comprehensive suite of identity security capabilities—including posture management, access management, governance, privileged access, device access, threat detection and response, orchestration, and automation posture management—into a single identity security fabric, the composite organization reduced the likelihood of an identity-related breach by 90%. In the event of a security incident, Forrester's model found that for the composite organization, Okta’s automated detection and risk-based access controls reduced the time it took to resolve identity-related incidents by 90%, preserving business continuity and keeping users secure.
Consolidating tools turns identity from an IT expense into a direct cost-saver
Managing redundant identity tools is an expensive, manual process. Consolidating disconnected tools onto a unified platform allowed the composite organization to reclaim $2.17 million in SaaS cost savings over three years by eliminating overlapping software licenses.
Automation also drastically reduced IT's administrative burden. The composite organization experienced a 50% reduction in access-related IT support tickets volume by Year 3 by using Okta's automated lifecycle and governance features, while automated workflows cut the manual administrative effort for access certification campaigns by 90%.
A unified foundation builds guardrails for the agentic enterprise
The rise of autonomous AI agents creates a new, unmanaged frontier for IT. Forrester’s study highlights that a centralized identity system brings visibility to this shifting landscape. This aligns with Okta’s blueprint for the secure agentic enterprise, which outlines why companies need to hold AI agents to the exact same security standards they apply to human employees. Treating agents as managed identities lets organizations answer three critical questions: Where are they operating, what can they connect to, and what can they do? These guardrails allow teams to monitor activity and bring "shadow AI" under corporate control before it introduces risk.
Streamlining the identity strategy
Unifying identity architecture is no longer just a security preference. It is a financial and operational necessity. Moving from siloed tools to a unified platform allows modern businesses to scale securely.
For a detailed breakdown of the data and financial modeling, explore the complete Forrester Total Economic Impact™ study.
These materials are intended for general informational purposes only and are not intended to be legal, privacy, security, compliance, or business advice.
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