AI Agents Reshape Identity Security Budget Dynamics
A new study from Omdia reveals that AI agents are reshaping identity security budget dynamics, with 45% of enterprises now maintaining a standalone AI budget. Among those, 36% of identity leaders have already tapped these funds for AI agent identity security—but a persistent 10% gap signals that identity teams must move early to engage AI budget holders. Identity security is emerging as a critical pillar for safeguarding AI agent deployments, while other funding sources include reallocations from innovation budgets (28%), digital transformation initiatives (21%), and cuts to existing identity programs (15%).
The research underscores a strategic urgency: identity security can no longer be treated as a back-office cost center. As AI agents become autonomous actors within enterprise infrastructure—making decisions, accessing data, and executing workflows—the need to secure their identities has become as fundamental as securing human users. Omdia’s findings indicate that identity teams are still playing catch-up. Though more than a third have successfully accessed standalone AI budgets, the 10-percentage-point disparity between the number of enterprises with an AI budget (45%) and those using it for identity security (36%) points to a coordination breakdown.
To close this gap, identity leaders must proactively forge relationships with AI budget holders—often CTOs, CIOs, or chief AI officers—and build a compelling business case that frames identity security not as a cost, but as a foundational enabler of safe AI adoption. The data suggests that reliance on reactive reallocation is risky: 28% of identity security funding comes from slicing innovation budgets, 21% from digital transformation pools, and 15% from cannibalizing existing identity security lines. These piecemeal approaches can create budget instability and limit long-term planning.
