Hidden Applications Create Audit and Security Risks
Most enterprise applications remain outside identity governance, creating compliance gaps, unmanaged access, and operational risk.
THE GAP
The Governance Gap Most Organizations Don’t Measure
The applications SailPoint can see are governed. The ones it cannot see: Win32, mainframe, legacy ERP, and custom line-of-business apps, carry unmanaged identity risk that compounds every day.
86%
of enterprise applications may be ungoverned; invisible to SailPoint compliance controls.
$1M+
annual labor cost for manual identity sync between disconnected systems.
#3
Unmanaged systems are a top-3 identity governance deficiency in compliance audits.
3-5 years
How long you'll wait for SailPoint to ship a pre-built connector for your legacy system.
A Typical Enterprise Application Landscape:
The Pain
You have made a significant investment in SailPoint, both cost and internal resources, and it works well for the systems it governs. Your auditor just flagged all the disconnected systems SailPoint cannot see and therefore cannot govern; this is on you to fix. Waiting 3-5 years for SailPoint to ship a native connector for a single legacy app is not a viable path forward.
Pick Your Poison
Four Paths Forward, All Problematic
Every organization with a SailPoint governance gap faces the same options. None of them solve the problem cleanly.
Wait for SailPoint’s Pre-Built Connectors
SailPoint ships a limited number of new connectors each year. If your legacy ERP, mainframe, or custom app is not on their roadmap, you are waiting years while compliance blind spots accumulate.
Build Custom Connectors In-House
$25K–$100K per connector. Months per build. Your development team gets pulled into identity infrastructure, and when they leave, the knowledge leaves with them.
Use Generic Middleware or RPA
General-purpose integration tools do not understand identity semantics: provisioning workflows, access policies, audit requirements. You are retrofitting a square peg into an identity-shaped hole.
Accept the Blind Spots
Until the first SOC 2, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS audit surfaces unmanaged access as a finding. Remediation under audit pressure is expensive, rushed, and documented as reactive, not proactive.
The Root Issue
The disconnected application problem is not a catalog problem. It is a platform problem. Every IGA platform ships a connector catalog. None of them cover the hundreds of internal, legacy, and line-of-business applications that make up the real governance gap. You need a platform that lets you build any connector fast.
BEYOND NATIVE CONNECTORS
Why SAAM Alone Is Not Enough
SailPoint’s SAAM (SaaS Application and Access Management) is a powerful capability for discovering SaaS applications and accelerating onboarding for apps with native SailPoint connectors. However, SAAM does not address applications that lack APIs, including legacy systems, Win32 desktop applications, and custom internal tools. READI extends SailPoint’s reach to these applications.
| Tier | SailPoint SAAM | READI Adds |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility | Discovers SaaS apps, surfaces risk and usage data, prioritizes onboarding | Extends reach to on-prem, Win32, legacy, and terminal apps SAAM cannot see |
| Certifications | Zero-touch onboarding for natively supported apps | Smart Connector (no-code) + Connector Studio (low-code) onboard the rest in hours |
| Lifecycle Management | Full provisioning via native or SDK-built connectors | Bidirectional connectivity + Bot Studio governed automation for fulfillment |
DITCH CUSTOM DEV
READI vs. Custom Development
| Custom Build | READI | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 3–6 months per build | First connector in hours |
| Ownership | Dev team dependency | Low-code (Connector Studio) or no-code (Smart Connector) |
| Maintenance | Maintenance burden ongoing | Computer vision easily keeps connectors and automations up to date |
The READI Solution
Beyond the Catalog: Extend SailPoint Governance with READI
The disconnected application problem is not a catalog problem. It is a platform problem. READI gives your team the ability to build any connector fast, extending SailPoint Identity Security Cloud governance to the applications that no pre-built catalog will ever reach. READI is a certified SailPoint Technology Partner.
LOW CODE
Connector Studio
Build identity connectors to any system using any connection method: command-line, database access, APIs, file-based, or custom DLL. Connector Studio is a low-code environment powered by PowerShell. For common integration patterns, your team configures and maps connectors using the studio interface. For more complex transformations, you extend with custom PowerShell logic. Your IT team builds and owns it.
NO-CODE, AI POWERED
Smart Connector
READI Smart Connector uses AI and computer vision to interact with any application the way a human would: seeing the UI, navigating screens, and reading or updating identity data without requiring APIs, custom code, or fragile screen-scraping scripts. Describe the workflow in plain English. READI’s AI learns the application UI, authors the automation, and converts it into a governed, deterministic script running under standard READI platform controls. When the application changes, regenerate the script in minutes. Smart Connector is no-code and is an add-on to READI 2 Connect.
pre-built (Coming Soon)
Pre-Built Connector Library
For common enterprise applications, READI provides pre-built connectors that accelerate deployment. Each connector in the library uses the same Connector Studio framework, so your team can customize and extend as needed.
How Integration Works
Connect Your Systems
READI builds bidirectional connectors, pulling identity data into SailPoint and pushing SailPoint decisions back out in real time. UI-captured data from Smart Connector flows directly into Connector Studio for mapping, normalization, and enrichment before reaching your IGA.
Cleanse, Normalize, and Enrich
Data from connected applications is transformed midstream. Attribute mapping, formatting, concatenation, conditional logic, and enrichment from external sources all happen before data reaches SailPoint, so governance decisions start from accurate information.
Real-Time Governance Sync
Attestations, certifications, and terminations made in SailPoint propagate to all connected systems. No batch jobs. No lag.
Agile, Incremental Expansion
Start with your highest-risk system. Go live in hours. Add systems on your schedule. Each connector builds on the same framework.
VIDEO: 2:55 MIN
READI: Smart Connectors
See how READI Smart Connectors transform identity automation. With simple typed commands, no coding needed, you can instantly connect any app to your IAM ecosystem.
KEY BENEFITS
READI Complements SailPoint By:
Give identity teams the speed they need without compromising governance.
Connecting applications outside the native connector catalog.
Cleansing and normalizing identity data before governance.
Automating complex, multi-step identity workflows.
Enabling custom remediation beyond standard IAM operations.
Providing full audit trails for every automated action.
Coverage Has ROI
What 100% SailPoint Coverage Looks Like
When SailPoint governs every application in your environment, these are the projected outcomes. Actual results vary by organization.
Application governance coverage, no blind spots, no unmanaged access.
Average time to first full system coverage vs. 12+ months for custom development.
Termination enforcement across all connected systems when SailPoint acts.
Average annual savings from eliminating manual identity data synchronization.
SUCCESS STORIES
Business Outcomes
The following examples illustrate common outcomes organizations achieve when extending governance and automation with READI. Individual results may vary based on environment, scope, and implementation approach.
Financial Services
100% Coverage in 8 Weeks vs. 12-Month Dev Timeline
500 employees, 45 systems. SailPoint governing only 15. Two consecutive audits flagged unmanaged access.
8 connectors built to legacy banking
and mainframe systems
100% system coverage achieved
in 8 weeks
Audit findings for unmanaged systems eliminated
$240K/year labor savings from
automated sync
Healthcare
EHR Access Fulfillment: 2 Weeks to 1 Day
1,000+ employees. EHR system with no SailPoint integration. Clinicians waited 2 weeks for access.
EHR connector built by READI Smart Connector using only plain language instructions
Access fulfillment reduced from 2 weeks to 1 day
Manual EHR provisioning queue eliminated
$240K/year labor savings from
automated sync
Manufacturing
Shop Floor Terminations Enforced Same-Day
3,000+ employees. ERP, MES, and shop floor access control all disconnected from SailPoint.
5 connectors: ERP, MES, access control, SCADA, payroll
Shop floor access revoked same day as SailPoint termination
Security incidents reduced
SOX audit passed with zero unmanaged access findings
FREE RESOURCE
SailPoint Integration Checklist
How to extend SailPoint governance to 100% of your applications, including a system-by-system assessment framework, connector method selection guide, and prioritization matrix.
GET THE FREE CHECKLIST