Authorization Modernization Assessment

How ready is your authorization for identities, machines and AI agents?

Most authorization was designed for human users and static apps. Find out how your fabric holds up now that machines and autonomous agents act inside it — answer 30 questions, see your gaps across six domains, and leave with a roadmap to a Level 5, AI-ready model.

6
domains
30
questions
~5 min
to complete
Free
no login
  • Governance
  • Identity Controls
  • Policy Management
  • Runtime Authorization
  • Enforcement
  • Scalability
Why now

Authorization was built for humans. Your estate isn't only human anymore.

The fastest-growing identities in the enterprise are machines and AI agents — and the old model of granting access at login no longer holds. Three shifts are forcing authorization to modernize.

  • Identities aren't just humans anymore

    Machines, service accounts, API consumers and autonomous AI agents now act inside your stack — often on behalf of a human, often at machine speed. Most authorization models were never designed to govern them as first-class identities.

  • Decisions happen at login, not at the action

    Access granted at provisioning or sign-in goes stale the moment context changes. Modern authorization re-evaluates continuously — who, where, what and why — at the transaction layer, every request.

  • AI agents reach tools, data and MCP servers

    Agentic workflows chain tools and Model Context Protocol servers across systems. Without runtime guardrails on every step, one over-permissioned agent becomes an outsized blast radius.

What the assessment measures

Six domains of authorization maturity

Each domain is scored 1–5 from five questions. Together they show where your authorization fabric is strongest — and where it's holding the enterprise back.

  • Domain 1

    Authorization Governance

    Who owns authorization, and how is it audited, versioned, and tested across the enterprise?

    5 questions
  • Domain 2

    Identity Controls

    Which identities — humans, machines, agents — does your authorization model govern, and how richly?

    5 questions
  • Domain 3

    Authorization Policy Management

    How is policy authored, shared, and pushed across the application landscape?

    5 questions
  • Domain 4

    Runtime Authorization

    When and how often is an access decision actually re-evaluated against current context?

    5 questions
  • Domain 5

    Enforcement

    Where in the stack is policy actually enforced — and how granularly?

    5 questions
  • Domain 6

    Operational Scalability

    Can the authorization fabric keep up — with new apps, new teams, and AI-scale workloads?

    5 questions
The maturity ladder

From Legacy to Adaptive — five levels of authorization

The PlainID Modernization Matrix maps every domain across the same five levels. The assessment tells you which one you're on — and what it takes to climb.

  1. L1Legacy
    Static, hard-coded

    Authorization is hard-coded inside each app. Humans only, human-paced.

  2. L2Managed
    Centralized IAM

    Centralized IAM removes the worst silos — but decisions still happen at login.

  3. L3Externalized
    Externalized PBAC

    Policy is externalized from code, with PBAC standardized across the stack.

  4. L4Contextual
    Dynamic + contextual

    Dynamic, context-aware decisions at the transaction layer for humans and machines.

  5. L5Adaptive
    Adaptive + AI-ready

    Continuous, risk-adaptive control across humans, machines and AI agents.

    AI-ready target
How it works

Five minutes in. A modernization roadmap out.

No prep, no login, no sales call required to see your results.

  1. 1

    Answer 30 quick questions

    Six domains, five questions each. Pick the statement that best matches how your enterprise works today. Press 1–5 — it takes about five minutes.

  2. 2

    See your score and maturity map

    Get an overall Level 1–5 score, a domain-by-domain radar, and the exact gap between where you are and a Level 5, AI-ready authorization fabric.

  3. 3

    Get a tailored modernization roadmap

    A prioritized set of capabilities to reach your next level — and what each step lets you retire — grounded in the PlainID Modernization Matrix.

Your report includes
  • An overall Level 1–5 maturity score
  • A domain-by-domain radar across all six domains
  • Your position on the full Authorization Modernization Matrix
  • A prioritized roadmap to your next maturity level
  • What each step lets you eliminate — legacy entitlement code, DIY OPA, login-only checks
  • A shareable PDF you can download (after a short form)
FAQ

Questions before you start

  • How long does the assessment take?
    About five minutes. It's 30 questions across six domains — five per domain — and you can move with the keyboard (press 1–5 to answer, Enter to advance).
  • What do I get at the end?
    An overall Level 1–5 maturity score, a domain-by-domain radar, your place on the full Authorization Modernization Matrix, and a tailored roadmap of the capabilities needed to reach your next level. You can download the whole thing as a PDF after a short form.
  • Is it really free? Do I have to talk to sales?
    Yes, it's free, and you see your full results on screen with no form. You only share your details if you want to download your results as a PDF or get a walkthrough from a PlainID specialist — that part is optional.
  • What is the PlainID Modernization Matrix?
    It's a five-level maturity ladder — Legacy, Managed, Externalized, Contextual and Adaptive — mapped across six authorization domains: Governance, Identity Controls, Policy Management, Runtime Authorization, Enforcement and Operational Scalability. The assessment places you on it.
  • Who is this for?
    IAM, security and platform leaders responsible for how access decisions are made across applications, APIs, data and — increasingly — AI agents. No vendor knowledge is required to answer the questions.
  • Does my data leave my browser?
    The assessment runs entirely in your browser. Your answers and score stay local unless you choose to submit the form to receive your PDF or request a walkthrough.
Authorization Modernization Assessment

See where your authorization stands.

Score your maturity across six domains in about five minutes and get a tailored roadmap to an AI-ready authorization fabric.