#458 - Gartner US IAM Summit 2026 Preview with Rebecca Archambault and Paul Rabinovich

Jeff and Jim finally land a long-sought pair of guests: current Gartner analysts Rebecca Archambault and Paul Rabinovich, chair and co-chair of the Gartner Identity & Access Management Summit, December 7-9 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas. Rebecca and Paul share their paths into identity, from HSBC and Lotus Notes to a security PhD and aerospace and defense, then preview this year's theme of reshaping identity in the age of AI. The conversation covers the MCP interop session with the OpenID Foundation, why authorization remains so hard to standardize, runtime controls, human-in-the-loop, and intent-based access control for AI agents, IVIP and the end of "light IGA," and why the fundamentals still matter. They close with tips for first-time attendees, how analyst one-on-ones work, the new expo floor neighborhoods, and a few Las Vegas recommendations.

Gartner US IAM Summit: https://www.gartner.com/en/conferences/na/identity-access-management-us

Connect with Rebecca: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-becky-archambault-4b4285111/

Connect with Paul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-rabinovich-20b79b8/

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/

Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/

Visit the show on the web at http://idacpodcast.com

00:00 Jeff's broken finger update and the Gartner white whale

03:17 Welcome Rebecca Archambault and Paul Rabinovich

04:08 Rebecca's path from HSBC to identity

06:04 Lotus Notes war stories

07:23 Paul's path from a security PhD to identity

08:22 Paul's role in Gartner for Technical Professionals

09:27 Rebecca's coverage: IAM programs, IGA, IVIP, ISPM, ITDR, and CIAM

10:43 How their perspectives changed as analysts

12:50 What to expect at the Gartner IAM Summit

14:54 What's different this year

19:17 The MCP interop with the OpenID Foundation

23:32 Past interops: CAEP and AuthZEN

24:09 What didn't make the agenda

26:36 Decentralized identity and the London Summit

28:32 Rebecca's session: Renaissance in the Age of AI

31:58 Can authorization ever be standardized?

39:42 Standards and authorizing AI agents

42:12 Paul's session: AI agents on a solid access management foundation

46:50 Foundational IAM and the rise of IVIP

49:23 First-timer tips: Conference Navigator, recordings, one-on-ones

55:21 Las Vegas hidden gems

1:00:31 PSA: Caesars Forum is not Caesars Palace

1:04:46 New expo floor neighborhoods

1:05:56 Networking advice

1:07:15 Wrap up: Ask IDAC, IAM 101 series, and the donor page

IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Rebecca Archambault, Paul Rabinovich, Gartner, Gartner IAM Summit, Identity and Access Management, IAM, AI Agents, Agentic AI, MCP, Model Context Protocol, OpenID Foundation, Interop, Authorization, AuthZEN, CAEP, Shared Signals Framework, OPA, Cedar, Intent-Based Access Control, Human in the Loop, IGA, IVIP, ISPM, ITDR, CIAM, PAM, Machine Identity, NHI, Zero Trust, Post-Quantum Cryptography, Decentralized Identity, Las Vegas