Privileged access sits at the center of some of the most consequential activities in an organization. When a highly privileged credential is compromised—or used without sufficient control—the effects can spread quickly across systems, data, and operations.
Privileged access sits at the center of some of the most consequential activities in an organization. When a highly privileged credential is compromised—or used without sufficient control—the effects can spread quickly across systems, data, and operations.
That is why privileged access management (PAM) cannot be treated as a technology purchase alone. A successful practice must address the people whose workflows will change, privileges that persist longer than necessary, activities teams cannot see, and tools that need to work together.
A new Gartner® report, “5 Strategies for a Successful PAM Practice,” outlines a pragmatic path for cybersecurity leaders. In our opinion, Its central lesson is simple: start with the fundamentals, focus on the highest risk use cases, and build maturity over time.
Our key Takeaways:
PAM changes how administrators, developers, support teams, and security functions perform sensitive work. Friction is predictable when the purpose and benefits are unclear. Establish a shared vision, create a cross-functional team, and secure executive sponsorship before workflow changes arrive.
Use a current account inventory as the foundation for action, then group privileged activities into functional use cases, reduce reliance on personal privileged accounts, vault remaining credentials, rotate them, and use just-in-time access wherever viable. Prioritize with a risk lens: who needs access, when, what level, where, and why?
Session visibility helps teams understand what happened. Recording, indexing, and risk-based review can support auditability, investigations, and threat detection. Add context from technologies such as SIEM, file integrity monitoring, DLP, XDR, and CIEM to strengthen the picture.
PAM delivers more value when integrated in existing workflows. Integrations with IGA, MFA, ITSM, SIEM, ITDR, and security scanning can improve control and reduce operational friction. Automation can also move repeatable privileged tasks away from administrators, freeing them for higher-value work.
A mature PAM practice is built iteratively. Track meaningful measures such as standing access converted to just-in-time use cases, sessions recorded and reviewed, credentials managed by PAM, and privileged access aligned to approved change windows. The goal is not to do everything at once. It is to reduce the most important risks first—and keep improving.
Ready to strengthen your PAM roadmap? Read the report for the five strategies, implementation guidance, cautions, and success measures.
Gartner, 5 Strategies for a Successful PAM Practice, Michael Kelly, 19 May 2026
GARTNER is a trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates.