‘Saviynt is Today Shaping the Future of Identity Management by Evolving Beyond Traditional Employee Identity Governance’: Shankar Ganapathy, Global Chief Operating Officer, Saviynt

Shankar Ganapathy,  Chief Operations Officer, Saviynt

Saviynt can govern identities across employees, partners, privileged users, and increasingly, non-human entities such as bots and IoT devices. Shankar Ganapathy, Chief Operating Officer, Saviynt explains exclusively to CXO Media and APAC Media how the company’s evolution is rooted in an organically built platform-first strategy.

Saviynt has rapidly evolved in the Cloud Identity space. Could you walk us through the latest updates to your product portfolio and how your services have scaled to manage over 60 million identities globally?

Saviynt has redefined the identity landscape by expanding from traditional IAM into a comprehensive, converged cloud-native identity security platform, The Identity Cloud, that covers Identity Security Posture Management (ISPM), Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), Application Access Governance (AAG), Privileged Access Management (PAM), and External Identity Management. The company’s evolution is rooted in a “platform-first” strategy—organically built rather than assembled through acquisitions—which enables us to scale seamlessly while maintaining technological consistency. 

We have the ability to govern identities across employees, partners, privileged users, and increasingly, non-human entities such as bots and IoT devices. Our product innovations address real-world needs: from fine-grained access governance in complex applications like SAP, to posture management and external identity solutions.

Under the broader strategic initiatives at Saviynt, what are the key pillars of your go-to-market (GTM) strategy today—particularly in driving renewals, expansions, and customer success?

Saviynt’s go-to-market strategy centers on managing the identity lifecycle—from onboarding to exit—impacting every employee across functions. We’ve expanded identity governance across three dimensions: implementing compliance frameworks to meet internal and external regulations; extending governance to the non-contingent workforce, including contractors and partners; and establishing control over non-human identities such as bots.

Our India-centric model—with over 50% of our staff based in Bangalore—supports global clients and is reinforced by senior leadership hires and strong partnerships. We’re also addressing the cybersecurity talent gap through Saviynt University, offering 200 hours of free learning content and an ISAA (Identity Security for the AI Age) certification.

With AI and agentic technologies embedded into our workflows, we automate access and accelerate application onboarding—helping customers keep pace with evolving identity needs and driving renewals, expansions, and long-term success.

In a market shared with competitors, what would you say uniquely differentiates Saviynt’s offerings in terms of value proposition and technology innovation?

Saviynt’s key differentiator lies in its unified, converged cloud-native identity platform that seamlessly scales across workforce, third-party, and machine identities. The platform is purpose-built to manage complex governance needs, such as fine-grained access to SAP and Oracle, just-in-time privileged access, and posture management.

Unlike competitors pursuing inorganic growth, Saviynt’s organic development ensures consistency, adaptability, and deeper integration across enterprise functions. Additionally, our FedRAMP certification enables us to serve high-security government clients—a rare capability in the market.

How is Saviynt’s partner structure currently organized? What role do system integrators, cloud hyperscalers, or MSSPs play in your go-to-market and post-sales ecosystem?

Saviynt’s current partner structure is organized under its Partner Program, which includes five key partner tracks tailored to different roles in their go-to-market and post-sales services and support.

  1. Distribution Partners – Intermediaries that onboard resellers with training, marketing support, and enablement tools.
  2. Valueadded Resellers (VARs) – Partners who sell Saviynt solutions alongside additional services, bundling software and implementation support.
  3. Service Delivery Partners – Consulting and implementation firms that manage end-to-end deployments, often building managed service offerings on top of Saviynt.
  4. Global System Integrators (GSIs) – Large, global SIs (e.g., Deloitte, EY, IBM, KPMG) delivering consulting, deployment, integration, and support at scale
  5. Technology Alliance Partners – Independent software vendors and technology companies that integrate directly with the Saviynt Identity Cloud—ranging from cloud hyperscalers like AWS and Microsoft, to security and app platforms like ServiceNow, Ping Identity, Zscaler, EPIC, and Workday

All partners in this ecosystem receive structured enablement, deal registration support, office hours, and marketing support depending on the tier in the Partner Program.

Are there any new product lines or service innovations Saviynt is rolling out in 2025? What strategic direction are you taking to align with the next phase of enterprise identity challenges?

In 2025, Saviynt continues to shape the future of identity management by evolving beyond traditional employee identity governance. We’re innovating across three key areas: establishing compliance frameworks aligned with regulatory changes; expanding governance to the non-contingent workforce, such as contractors and supply chain partners; and reinforcing control over non-human identities like bots—especially relevant in the AI era.

Strategically, we’re leveraging advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) to make access management more intuitive and exploring agentic technologies to automate workflows and accelerate application onboarding. These innovations are complemented by Saviynt University, an initiative aimed at closing the global cybersecurity talent gap.

We see India as central to this strategy, not only as a high-potential market but also as a critical hub for talent and R&D.

Bhavya Bagga