Jakub Jirsák - stock.adobe.com
SailPoint IPO highlights importance of identity
Security player’s distributor views move as a moment that validates the market, as well as its involvement with the vendor
The IPO announcement from SailPoint has highlighted the importance of identity and its position as a critical part of a channel player’s security offering.
The unified identity specialist announced it was looking to go public earlier this month, and yesterday shared the pricing of shares.
The firm has stated that it tends to use the proceeds of the IPO to repay some loans and private equity fees, as well as for general corporate purposes.
The IPO is a moment that not only underlines the importance of identity, but an opportunity for long-term distribution partner Ignition Technology to reflect on the decision it made to partner with the firm back in 2018. “Back then, we identified two areas of growth which we could see, and they were identity and end point,” said Sean Remnant, chief strategy officer at Ignition Technology.
“There are so many different pillars of security, but ultimately, everything boils down to identity,” he added. “Whether you’re talking about configuring a firewall, whether you’re talking about logging in, whether you’re talking about accessing data or accessing an application, whether you’re looking at physical security in terms of accessing and getting into a building, then identity is that cornerstone of everything that we do.”
Remnant said the market had evolved over time, and that identity had moved from being seen as solely a compliance and governance issue to a critical foundation for all security.
“If you look at third-party research, if you look at the growth, we keep an eye on what the market is doing and we see all the buying behaviour, and identity is at the top of the CISO’s priorities again this year for 2025,” he said. “Identity at the top, and we see data security second, and then we see artificial intelligence is probably third – but identity is consistently in the in the top three over the last five or six years.”
Company profile
Remnant said the IPO would give SailPoint more muscle and raise its profile in a crowded market.
“The customers will gravitate to that because they need to place bets on a platform play,” he said. “And I think if you were going to place a bet on a platform playing identity, it would be SailPoint because they’ve got a proven track record.
“For us, it validates the identity market and it also validates SailPoint in terms of when partners and customers go out looking for identity, it probably puts them at the top of the pile,” added Remnant.
He said Ignition had a strategy of bringing emerging vendors and technologies to market, and that the SailPoint story was a reflection on its ability to identify and support vendors.
“A lot of it is helping the partners identify what’s going on in the market, and helping them stay relevant so they can service, but also differentiate with their customers,” said Remnant.
SailPoint announced yesterday it was making shares available at $23 each, raising $1.38bn, which was the top end of the expected range. Thoma Bravo took the firm private in 2022, and has sold the majority of its stake in the business as part of the process.
