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- From Tech Talk to Business Speak: Communicating IAM Value
From Tech Talk to Business Speak: Communicating IAM Value
Identity Leadership Series
David Lee
April 28, 2025
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Intro Section
Here’s the truth: —most IAM conversations with executives sound like this:
"We’re rolling out an IGA platform to enable certification campaigns and lifecycle automation across the joiner-mover-leaver process."
Cue the blank stares.
The problem isn’t that you’re wrong. It’s that nobody outside of identity cares about your acronyms, workflows, or certifications.
They care about what it means for them.
If you want leadership to care about IAM, you’ve got to move from tech talk to business speak.
Here’s how:
1. Anchor Identity to Business Goals
Before you talk about access governance, SSO, or privilege management, ask yourself:
What’s the business trying to do this year?
Where is leadership most concerned—revenue, compliance, efficiency, customer experience?
Then tie IAM to those goals:
"Faster onboarding = faster time to productivity for new hires."
"Cleaner access reviews = passing the next SOX audit with zero findings."
"Improved external identity management = better customer experience and higher loyalty."
IAM is a business enabler—but only if you say it in their terms.
2. Frame Risks in Dollars, Not Just Threats
Telling leadership "we have a risk" isn’t enough. Translate risk into potential business impact:
Instead of:
"We have too many privileged accounts."
Say:
"If one of these accounts is compromised, it could lead to a major data breach, with an estimated cost of $4.5M in breach-related expenses, regulatory fines, and brand damage."
Numbers talk. Risk without context is noise. Risk with business impact is a decision driver.
3. Tell a Business Story, Not a Security Lecture
IAM isn’t a checkbox. It’s part of the story your business is telling:
"We’re growing fast, and we need to scale identity processes without adding risk."
"We’re facing new regulations, and we need to prove who has access to what."
"We’re moving to the cloud, and identity is the new perimeter."
Bring IAM into the bigger narrative. Make it clear that identity is essential to reaching business goals, not just avoiding bad outcomes.
4. Use Metrics That Matter
When you show progress, show metrics executives actually care about:
"Time to onboard new hires reduced by 60%."
"99% access review completion rate in the last audit cycle."
"Decrease in privileged access violations by 40% over six months."
No one gets excited about "number of workflows automated" or "number of connectors deployed." They get excited about business impact.
Final Thoughts: Talk Like They Think
To lead IAM successfully, you have to meet the business where it is—in its language, on its priorities, and with outcomes that matter.
When you stop selling IAM features and start selling business outcomes, everything changes.
Next week: How to build an identity roadmap that doesn’t collect dust on a SharePoint site.
Got tips on how you talk identity to the business? Drop em in the comments. Like what you read? Share with your peers!
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