1️⃣ CISO / Security Leadership

Sets strategic direction: Zero Trust alignment, risk appetite, tool budgets. Often the budget driver.

Cares About:

• Threat reduction
• Compliance alignment
• Operational efficiency
• Executive reporting

You Must Know: CISO priorities drive PAM programme scope. Misalign here, fail everywhere.

2️⃣ Identity & Access Governance

Designs access policies, manages roles, enforces segregation of duties. Often missed in initial PAM planning—biggest mistake.

Cares About:

• Process consistency
• Audit-readiness
• Policy enforcement
• Role management

You Must Know: IG teams understand ‘why’ better than tool teams. Start here for compliance alignment.

3️⃣ IT Operations / Systems Administration

Implements and operates PAM day-to-day: credential management, user provisioning, tool maintenance. Often frustrated by compliance burden.

Cares About:

• Simplicity
• Speed (provisioning time)
• Tool reliability
• Operational overhead

You Must Know: IT Ops will find workarounds if PAM is too complex. Design for them or programme fails.

4️⃣ Security Operations Centre (SOC)

Monitors for suspicious access, responds to incidents, provides forensic evidence. Key player in threat detection.

Cares About:

• Visibility into access activity
• Real-time alerting
• Session recordings for forensics
• Integration with SIEM tools

You Must Know: SOC teams need actionable alerts, not noise. Design PAM monitoring for their workflows.

5️⃣ Compliance & Risk Management

Maps PAM controls to regulations, gathers audit evidence, certifies access reviews. Often the audit driver.

Cares About:

• Documentation
• Evidence collection
• Regulatory mapping
• Audit trail completeness

You Must Know: Compliance teams understand regulations but often miss operations. You bridge that gap.

6️⃣ Business Unit Leaders

Own access decisions, certify access reviews, manage business risk. Often overlooked in PAM planning—critical mistake.

Cares About:

• System availability
• Reducing friction
• Risk accountability
• Business decision authority

You Must Know: If business owners aren’t bought in, access reviews become rubber stamps.

If Only CISO Aligns

Programme gets strategic direction but fails operationally. IT teams resist. Compliance misses details.
Result: £500K tool investment, 40% adoption.

If Only IT Ops Aligns

Programme gets implemented fast but without governance. No compliance evidence. No strategic alignment.
Result: Works for 6 months, fails audit.

If All Six Align

Strategic direction + operational feasibility + compliance evidence + business buy-in + real-time visibility.
Result: Programme sustains, audits pass, team scales.