Rohan Vaidya, Area Vice-President, India & SAARC, CyberArk, has said that properly implemented Software as a service (SaaS) solutions provide significant security benefits that can help organisations enhance their protection while managing complex IT environments. “Contrary to common misconceptions, SaaS solutions will be helpful in managing complex IT environments,” he told businessline.

The key to a successful SaaS integration lies in thoughtful implementation, choosing the right SaaS partners, and maintaining a proactive stance on security and compliance, he pointed out. “SaaS can centralise identity and access management through Single Sign-On (SSO). This reduces password fatigue, simplifies login processes, and lowers the risk of phishing attacks by minimising credential use,” he said.

24/7 SOCs

Quoting from a recent report — Orchestrating Multi-Cloud Identities-A Unified Approach to Access Management — it prepared with DSCI (Data Security Council of India), he said that SaaS providers utilised 24/7 security operations centres (SOCs) with AI-powered anomaly detection to monitor and respond to potential threats in real-time, enabling swift action before breaches occur. “A key challenge for organisations is the 97-day delay in applying critical security patches. SaaS providers typically address vulnerabilities within hours or days, offering faster protection against emerging threats,” he said. Moreover, SaaS solutions offer scalable security expertise that many smaller or niche organisations cannot afford to maintain in-house, reducing the cost and resource burden of advanced cybersecurity.

The report said that about 60 per cent of global banks are expected to adopt SaaS platforms by 2026, which could reduce operational costs by 30 per cent, but progress is slow due to security and regulatory concerns.

The SaaS market in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector in India is projected to reach $42.13 billion by 2027. However, challenges around data privacy and legacy systems integration hinder larger growth, he said. “One of the main challenges is managing different types of identities, including human, application and machine identities. The exponential growth of these identities, the complexity of security controls and diverse authentication methods create potential security vulnerabilities,” he said.

“To address these concerns, SaaS provides benefits such as centralised identity management, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and strong governance capabilities,” he said. He said his company would encourage promotion of the culture of security “in everything and anything”. Until and unless it becomes a culture of security in our minds, in our everyday life we would always be on that risk of new technology and new innovations.

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