Okta bets on identity to control AI agents, but is identity enough?

“Everyone wants to own the traffic system of the agent economy,” says IDC analyst Emanuel Figueroa. “Identity vendors, cloud providers, AI platforms, and cybersecurity vendors all see an opportunity to become the control plane for autonomous actors.”

Identity providers are positioned well, he says, because agents operate through credentials, permissions, delegated access, and trust relationships. “The question is which layer enterprises ultimately trust to coordinate agent activity at scale.”

Okta could have an edge over Microsoft, says ABI’s Dawson, because it offers a more agnostic identity platform.