How SailPoint Helps AWS Secure and Govern its AI Agents

Autonomous AI agents are here to stay, and so are the security risks that come with them. 

To address this issue, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is deepening its relationship with SailPoint through a new strategic collaboration agreement.

This reflects AWS' clear ambition to redefine how identity security operates in AI-driven environments where autonomous agents are becoming increasingly central to business operations.

The deal builds on years of integration and is now taking a more deliberate step towards joint innovation – particularly where AI agents require new approaches to identity management and security.

"The proliferation of AI agents is creating a new class of non-human identities and each one represents a new attack surface," says Mark McClain, CEO and Founder of SailPoint.

"For AI to be a true business accelerant, it must be built on a foundation of security. Our collaboration with AWS is about providing that foundation.

"By building a unified identity plane, we believe we will give our joint customers the visibility and control they need to manage the complexity of an AI-driven ecosystem, allowing them to innovate boldly and securely."

Managing non-human identities in AI systems

At a time when organisations are accelerating their deployment of AI agents, identity has become the central control point for ensuring these systems operate securely and within appropriate boundaries.

SailPoint's identity governance platform will align more closely with AWS infrastructure, enabling enterprises to deploy and manage identity controls for their AI agents more seamlessly across complex digital estates.

Both companies are expected to co-develop solutions and streamline customer access, reducing friction in procurement and deployment.

As organisations experiment with autonomous systems that can act, decide and adapt independently, the number and type of identities within enterprise environments is expanding at pace.

These new identities include AI agents, autonomous services and machine-driven processes, all of which require governance.

The challenge extends beyond simply tracking these identities.

Organisations must also ensure that each AI agent operates with appropriate permissions, adheres to compliance requirements and maintains audit trails that satisfy regulatory frameworks across different jurisdictions.

"Agentic AI is unlocking opportunities for growth and innovation across all industries," says Keshav Narsipur, VP of AWS Identity and Access Management, Cloud Governance and Infrastructure as Code at AWS.

"As customers build transformative new experiences, they need a trusted framework for security and governance.

"This collaboration brings together SailPoint's leadership in identity with the power of AWS, enabling our customers to confidently deploy and scale their AI agents."

The partnership seeks to ensure that innovation does not outpace control, allowing businesses to scale AI adoption without introducing unmanaged risk.

Real-time governance for autonomous systems

A key theme underpinning the agreement is the move away from static access models towards continuous governance designed specifically for AI environments.

Traditional approaches, rely on periodic reviews and fixed permissions, which are proving to be increasingly inadequate to manage autonomous agents that operate continuously and make independent decisions.

SailPoint's platform, integrated with AWS, is designed to support real-time decision making. Access can be granted, adjusted or revoked based on context, behaviour and risk signals, creating a more adaptive security posture that responds to how AI agents actually operate.

Automation is central to this model. By reducing the need for manual intervention, organisations can respond faster to emerging threats while easing the operational burden on teams managing AI deployments.

SailPoint will integrate with AWS AgentCore – Amazon's platform that allows organisations to deploy and operate AI agents in minutes – thereby instantly discovering new AI agents, which will be treated as new identities.

Building security into AI innovation

The SailPoint AWS agreement reflects a broader transformation within AI development.

Identity governance is no longer a supporting component but a foundational layer that underpins how AI agents interact across digital infrastructure.

By embedding identity governance directly into AI deployment platforms, companies can deliver more integrated and scalable solutions that meet the evolving needs of enterprises building autonomous systems.

This approach marks a shift from bolting on security measures retrospectively to designing them into the architecture from the outset. It enables organisations to maintain security posture whilst accelerating their AI initiatives rather than treating these objectives as competing priorities.

For SailPoint, the collaboration strengthens its position in the identity security market as AI agents become more prevalent. 

For AWS, it enhances the depth of its AI infrastructure offering.

For customers, it could mean a future where identity governance is not an afterthought but a built-in capability that enables secure AI innovation at scale.