100 Apps Down, 1,500 to Go: Why Your Onboarding Backlog is a Security Risk

[AmyL]

Application Landscape Challenges 

Let’s start with a scenario that’s all too real. A business unit is ready to launch a game-changing project, but they need a new app to do it. They come to you, only to be told it will take six weeks to get the application onboarded and accessible. What’s the real impact of that delay? It’s not just frustrated business users. It’s a direct hit to business agility and a glaring symptom of a much deeper problem. 

The root of the issue is "application sprawl." This goes far beyond the well-known SaaS platforms. The average enterprise is juggling more than 10,000 applications, a chaotic mix of custom-built software, aging legacy systems, and cutting-edge AI tools. This explosion is the natural result of rapid cloud adoption, frequent M&A activity, and decentralized purchasing from individual departments. 

This sprawl creates a massive governance gap. Not all apps are created equal; some manage highly regulated data while others support the daily needs of the business. Applying a one-size-fits-all governance model to this diverse landscape is a recipe for failure. 

The Manual Onboarding Treadmill 

For identity security administrators, the process is a painful and repetitive cycle. A new application request comes in, a ticket is created, and a 20-step internal checklist is pulled up. The admin then spends the next two weeks in an endless loop of emails with the business owner—manually creating roles and copy-pasting entitlements. 

This manual, slow-moving process inevitably clashes with the business's need for speed. The pressure to "just get it done" becomes immense, forcing admins to take shortcuts. They might clone access from a "similar" user, grant overly broad permissions to preempt future requests, or skip documentation entirely. 

Each of these shortcuts is a deposit into a high-interest "security debt" account. They aren't acts of laziness but forced errors caused by a broken process. Every over-provisioned account and inconsistent policy is a liability waiting to be exploited—a security incident waiting to happen. The very ticket queue designed to enable the business is actively creating risk. 

From Weeks to Hours: Reclaiming Business Agility 

The onboarding bottleneck is more than an IT headache; it's a significant drain on the entire organization. The pain is quantifiable. It can take anywhere from 40 hours to 8 weeks to onboard a single application. This delay translates to a tangible business cost, with an estimated $5,800 per employee cost in lost productivity while they wait for the access they need to do their jobs. 

But what if you could change this equation? 

The solution lies in AI-powered application onboarding within SailPoint Identity Security Cloud. SailPoint’s solution leverages AI to automate application discovery, correlate identities, and build initial configurations of roles and entitlements to fundamentally change and effectively streamline the onboarding process.

We help organizations secure critical business applications and move from a reactive, manual slog to a proactive, automated workflow—all from Identity Security Cloud. And, for those looking for an expert-led approach, SailPoint’s Accelerated Application Management (SAAM) combines both product and expert-led delivery to give enterprises immediate visibility into application landscapes.

This prescriptive, hands-on approach to governance and compliance that includes low-touch onboarding via streamlined application discovery and configuration processes.  

Your competitors are moving faster. It's time you did too. Instead of taking weeks, you can onboard applications in hours, reclaim business velocity, and turn your identity program into a true strategic advantage. 

Learn more 

This is the first post in an ongoing, deep-dive series into the challenge of application onboarding and how SailPoint can help. Come back and learn more in the coming weeks. Questions? Post in the comments; we’re happy to help!