As AI reshapes the threat landscape, identity security is becoming a critical control layer for protecting users, systems and data across increasingly automated environments. Mahmoud Ahmed, Regional Sales Director at Okta, tells us how AI-powered identity governance, threat detection and protection for both human and non-human identities are creating new opportunities for channel partners to deliver managed security services and support the Gulf’s Digital Transformation ambitions.
How is Okta embedding AI into its identity platform, and what tangible benefits can regional channel partners take to market today?
When people hear ‘AI in security’ they often expect something abstract. With identity, it’s actually very practical. Okta is using AI to help customers spot risky access sooner, reduce manual investigation and tighten governance without slowing the business down.
For partners in the region, the ‘go to market’ story is simple: you can package this into outcomes customers care about right now – fewer account takeovers, faster incident response and cleaner audit readiness. That naturally becomes offerings like managed identity threat detection, secure access upgrades and Governance-as-a-Service.
Generative AI is accelerating identity-based attacks. How should partners in the Middle East evolve their services to address these risks?
What’s changing is the speed and the believability of attacks. Deepfake voice notes, executive impersonation, automated credential testing—these aren’t edge cases anymore.
So partners need to evolve from ‘we implemented identity’ to ‘we continuously protect identity’. That means pushing customers toward phishing-resistant sign-in, tightening account recovery and critically having a clear identity incident playbook.
AI-driven identity governance and threat detection are becoming differentiators. What new revenue opportunities do you see for MSSPs and SIs?
This is where partners can really build recurring value. The first opportunity is straightforward: Managed ITDR monitor identity signals, tune policies, investigate anomalies and help contain incidents.
The second is governance: many organisations struggle to answer a basic question—’who has access to what, and should they?’ Partners can turn that into an ongoing service with regular access reviews, lifecycle controls and audit reporting. And then there’s privileged access modernisation.
In most breaches, the story eventually touches privileged credentials. Partners who can wrap strong access, governance and ongoing monitoring into one programme will do very well.
With GCC governments investing heavily in AI strategies, how can partners align identity security with national AI ambitions while ensuring compliance and data sovereignty?
The way I frame it is: National AI ambitions depend on trust. If citizens, regulators and enterprises don’t trust how access is controlled, AI adoption slows down.
Partners can align by positioning identity as the control layer for AI – who can use AI tools, who can access sensitive datasets, and how that access is logged and governed.
On compliance and sovereignty, the expectation in the GCC is clear: Be transparent, be auditable and respect local requirements. Partners who can document data flows, implement strong oversight, and design for local governance needs will stand out.
How is Okta helping partners address non-human identities, and why is this critical in digitally transforming Gulf economies?
A lot of organisations still think ‘identity’ means employees. But in modern environments especially with automation and AI there are more non-human identities than human ones: APIs, service accounts, workloads, bots and AI agents.
And here’s the issue: these identities often have broad access and don’t get reviewed the way people do. That’s why they’ve become such an attractive target.
In the GCC Digital Transformation smart services, platforms, critical infrastructure, those non-human identities, are everywhere. So bringing them under consistent policy, ownership and monitoring becomes a board-level conversation, not just an IT detail.
What investments is Okta making to equip partners in the Middle East with skills, certifications and tools to deliver AI-enhanced identity security?
Partners tell us they don’t just need product training they need repeatable ways to deliver outcomes. So the focus is on skills, certifications and practical playbooks that help partners package services customers will actually buy.
That includes enablement across sales and technical teams, hands-on labs, and field support to help partners build offerings like managed identity detection, governance programmes and secure access modernisation.
The goal is to shorten the time from ‘we learned it’ to ‘we can deliver it at scale’.
Looking ahead, how will AI reshape the identity security market in the region over the next 12–24 months and where should partners focus?
Over the next two years, identity will become even more central because AI makes attackers faster, and it also makes businesses more automated. That combination increases pressure on access controls.
You’ll see more demand for continuous, risk-based access rather than one-time setups. You’ll also see governance become less of a checkbox and more of a requirement to prove control especially in regulated sectors.
If I had to advise partners where to focus, it would be three areas: managed identity threat detection and response, phishing-resistant authentication, and AI non-human identity control. If you can do those well, you’ll stay competitive.
