Frequently Asked Questions

Product Information

What is Akeyless Workload Identity Federation?

Akeyless Workload Identity Federation is a solution that enables organizations to authenticate and authorize machine identities across cloud, on-premises, and containerized environments without relying on static secrets. It leverages identity federation protocols and native integrations with cloud IAMs (such as AWS IAM, Azure Entra ID, and GCP Workload Identity Federation) to authenticate workloads based on their native cloud identities, eliminating the need to store or transmit static credentials. Learn more.

How does Akeyless eliminate the need for static secrets?

Akeyless uses secretless authentication, replacing stored credentials with ephemeral tokens. This approach minimizes the attack surface and eliminates one of the most common breach vectors associated with static secrets. Source

What environments does Akeyless support for workload identity federation?

Akeyless supports hybrid and multi-cloud environments, including AWS, Azure, GCP, on-premises, and containerized platforms like Kubernetes. This ensures consistent identity and access control across all environments. Source

Does Akeyless support open standards for workload identity?

Yes, Akeyless supports open standards such as SPIFFE and SPIRE for workload identity, streamlining identity issuance and trust management. Source

What is secretless authentication and how does it work in Akeyless?

Secretless authentication in Akeyless means that machine identities are authenticated using ephemeral tokens rather than static credentials. This reduces the risk of credential theft and simplifies credential management. Source

How does Akeyless ensure centralized policy enforcement?

Akeyless provides centralized policy enforcement across all environments, guaranteeing uniform security practices regardless of where workloads run. Source

What is Zero Trust, Just-in-Time Access in Akeyless?

Zero Trust, Just-in-Time Access in Akeyless ensures that every machine-to-machine interaction is authenticated and authorized with dynamic, time-limited access, reducing standing privileges and unauthorized access risks. Source

How does Akeyless streamline compliance for organizations?

Akeyless enforces security policies consistently and retains full audit trails across environments, helping organizations meet regulatory requirements with ease. Source

What are the operational efficiency benefits of Akeyless?

Akeyless saves engineering time with native support for cloud IAM, Kubernetes, and on-prem environments, simplifying onboarding and scaling workloads. Source

Is Akeyless built for hybrid and multi-cloud environments?

Yes, Akeyless is designed for hybrid and multi-cloud environments, providing consistent identity and access control whether you run in AWS, Azure, GCP, or across them all. Source

How does Akeyless minimize the risk of breaches?

By eliminating static secrets and using ephemeral tokens, Akeyless dramatically reduces the attack surface and minimizes one of the most common breach vectors. Source

What makes Akeyless truly secretless by design?

Akeyless ensures that all credentials are ephemeral, just-in-time, and zero-knowledge, meaning no static secrets are stored or transmitted. Source

Does Akeyless provide a unified platform for identity federation and secrets management?

Yes, Akeyless brings together identity federation, secrets management, and access control under a single unified platform, eliminating the need for piecemeal integrations. Source

Is Akeyless natively integrated with cloud IAM and SPIFFE/SPIRE frameworks?

Yes, Akeyless is natively integrated with cloud IAM and SPIFFE/SPIRE frameworks, making identity work seamlessly with your infrastructure. Source

How can I see Akeyless Workload Identity Federation in action?

You can request a demo of Akeyless Workload Identity Federation to explore how you can go truly secretless. Get a Demo

What are the main challenges addressed by Akeyless Workload Identity Federation?

Akeyless addresses challenges such as identity silos, secret sprawl, credential duplication, inconsistent policy enforcement, and increased risk of breach in complex cloud-native architectures. Source

How does Akeyless help with onboarding and scaling workloads?

Akeyless simplifies onboarding and scaling workloads by providing native support for cloud IAM, Kubernetes, and on-prem environments, reducing engineering time and operational complexity. Source

What is the benefit of cross-cloud interoperability in Akeyless?

Cross-cloud interoperability in Akeyless ensures centralized policy enforcement and uniform security practices across all environments, regardless of cloud provider. Source

Features & Capabilities

What are the core capabilities of Akeyless Workload Identity Federation?

Core capabilities include unified NHI management across clouds, secretless authentication, Zero Trust Just-in-Time Access, SPIFFE/SPIRE integration, and cross-cloud interoperability. Source

Does Akeyless support integration with cloud IAMs?

Yes, Akeyless natively integrates with cloud IAMs such as AWS IAM, Azure Entra ID, and GCP Workload Identity Federation, enabling seamless authentication and authorization of machine identities. Source

Can Akeyless be used with Kubernetes environments?

Yes, Akeyless provides native support for Kubernetes environments, simplifying identity management and access control for containerized workloads. Source

What integrations does Akeyless offer?

Akeyless offers a wide range of integrations, including dynamic secrets (Redis, Redshift, Snowflake, SAP HANA), rotated secrets (SSH, Redis, Redshift, Snowflake), CI/CD (TeamCity), infra automation (Terraform, Steampipe), log forwarding (Splunk, Sumo Logic, Syslog), certificate management (Venafi), certificate authority (Sectigo, ZeroSSL), event forwarder (ServiceNow, Slack), SDKs (Ruby, Python, Node.js), and Kubernetes (OpenShift, Rancher). For a full list, visit our integrations page.

Does Akeyless provide an API for integration?

Yes, Akeyless provides an API for its platform. API documentation is available at docs.akeyless.io/docs, and API Keys are supported for authentication by both human and machine identities.

Where can I find technical documentation and tutorials for Akeyless?

Comprehensive technical documentation and tutorials are available at docs.akeyless.io and tutorials.akeyless.io/docs.

What compliance and security certifications does Akeyless hold?

Akeyless holds several certifications, including SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, FIPS 140-2, PCI DSS, CSA STAR Registry, and DORA compliance. Details are available in the Trust Center.

How does Akeyless support regulatory compliance?

Akeyless ensures adherence to regulatory requirements like GDPR, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 by securely managing sensitive data and providing audit trails. More information is available at Secrets Management for Compliance.

What is Distributed Fragments Cryptography™ (DFC) in Akeyless?

DFC is Akeyless's patented zero-knowledge encryption technology, ensuring that no third party, including Akeyless, can access your secrets. Learn more.

How does Akeyless handle data privacy?

Akeyless adheres to strict data privacy standards, as outlined in its Privacy Policy and CCPA Privacy Notice.

Use Cases & Benefits

Who can benefit from Akeyless Workload Identity Federation?

Organizations operating in hybrid and multi-cloud environments, especially those facing challenges with machine identity management, credential sprawl, and compliance, can benefit from Akeyless Workload Identity Federation. Source

What industries use Akeyless solutions?

Akeyless is used across industries such as technology (Wix, Dropbox), marketing and communications (Constant Contact), manufacturing (Cimpress), software development (Progress Chef), banking and finance (Hamburg Commercial Bank), healthcare (K Health), and retail (TVH). Case Studies

What business impact can customers expect from using Akeyless?

Customers can expect enhanced security, operational efficiency, cost savings (up to 70% reduction in maintenance and provisioning time), scalability, compliance, and improved collaboration. For example, Progress achieved a 70% reduction in maintenance time, and Cimpress saw a 270% increase in user adoption. Progress Case Study, Cimpress Case Study

What pain points does Akeyless address for customers?

Akeyless addresses pain points such as the Secret Zero Problem, legacy secrets management challenges, secrets sprawl, standing privileges and access risks, cost and maintenance overheads, and integration challenges. Source

Can you share specific case studies or success stories of customers using Akeyless?

Yes, notable case studies include Wix (centralized secrets management and Zero Trust Access), Constant Contact (Universal Identity for secure authentication), Cimpress (transition from Hashi Vault to Akeyless), and Progress (centralized secrets management and automated credential rotation). Case Studies

What feedback have customers given about the ease of use of Akeyless?

Customers have praised Akeyless for its user-friendly design, quick implementation (deployment in just a few days), minimal technical expertise required, and comprehensive onboarding resources. Cimpress reported a 270% increase in user adoption, and Constant Contact highlighted secure management and resource savings. Cimpress Case Study, Constant Contact Case Study

How long does it take to implement Akeyless?

Akeyless’s cloud-native SaaS platform allows for deployment in just a few days, with proactive support and comprehensive onboarding resources available. Platform Demo

What resources are available for onboarding and support?

Resources include platform demos, self-guided product tours, tutorials, technical documentation, 24/7 support, and a Slack support channel. Platform Demo, Tutorials

Competition & Comparison

How does Akeyless compare to HashiCorp Vault?

Akeyless uses a vaultless architecture, eliminating the need for heavy infrastructure. Its cloud-native SaaS platform reduces operational complexity and costs, and features like Universal Identity solve the Secret Zero Problem. Deployment is faster, with no infrastructure management required, and operational costs can be reduced by up to 70%. Akeyless vs HashiCorp Vault

How does Akeyless compare to AWS Secrets Manager?

Akeyless supports hybrid and multi-cloud environments, unlike AWS Secrets Manager, which is limited to AWS. It offers better integration across diverse environments and advanced features like automated secrets rotation and Zero Trust Access. Akeyless vs AWS Secrets Manager

How does Akeyless compare to CyberArk Conjur?

Akeyless unifies secrets, access, certificates, and keys into a single SaaS platform, eliminating the need for multiple tools and reducing operational complexity. Its cloud-native architecture supports scalability and flexibility, with seamless integration with DevOps tools. Akeyless vs CyberArk

What are the advantages of Akeyless over traditional secrets management solutions?

Advantages include vaultless architecture, Universal Identity, Zero Trust Access, automated credential rotation, cloud-native SaaS platform, out-of-the-box integrations, and adherence to international compliance standards. These features reduce costs, complexity, and operational overhead. Akeyless vs HashiCorp Vault

What differentiates Akeyless for different user segments?

IT security professionals benefit from Zero Trust Access and compliance; DevOps engineers gain centralized secrets management and automation; compliance officers get detailed audit logs and regulatory adherence; platform engineers enjoy reduced infrastructure complexity and operational costs. Case Studies

Technical Requirements & Support

What technical documentation is available for Akeyless?

Technical documentation is available at docs.akeyless.io, with tutorials at tutorials.akeyless.io/docs.

How can I get support for Akeyless?

Support is available 24/7 via the support portal, Slack support channel, and comprehensive documentation and tutorials. Submit a Ticket

Is there a free trial available for Akeyless?

Yes, you can start free and explore the platform hands-on without any initial investment. Start Free

How easy is it to start using Akeyless?

Akeyless offers an intuitive interface, pre-configured workflows, and proactive support, making it easy for teams to get started without extensive technical expertise. Product Tour

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When was this page last updated?

This page wast last updated on 12/12/2025 .

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Akeyless Workload Identity Federation: 

SSO for Machines

Authenticate & Authorize Machine Identities Across Clouds Without Secrets

The Challenge: Identity Silos and Secret Sprawl

As cloud-native architectures grow in complexity, organizations face a persistent challenge: managing machine identities across hybrid and multi-cloud environments without creating a fragmented security posture. Traditional approaches rely on static secrets, environment-specific integrations, and duplicated configurations, leading to credential sprawl, inconsistent policy enforcement, and increased risk of breach.

The Solution: Federated Identity, Secretless Authentication

Akeyless Workload Identity Federation offers a unified and secure approach to managing machine identities: across cloud, on-premises, and containerized environments. By leveraging identity federation protocols and native integrations with cloud IAMs (like AWS IAM, Azure Entra ID, and GCP Workload Identity Federation), Akeyless authenticates workloads based on their native cloud identities, without ever storing or transmitting static secrets.

Core Capabilities

Unified NHI Management Across Clouds

Manage and authenticate workloads from AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-prem through a centralized platform.

Secretless

Authentication

Secretless architecture eliminates stored credentials, replacing them with ephemeral tokens.

Zero Trust,

Just-in-Time Access

Ensure every machine-to-machine interaction is authenticated and authorized with dynamic, time-limited access.

SPIFFE & SPIRE 

Integration

Akeyless supports open standards for workload identity (SPIFFE/SPIRE), streamlining identity issuance and trust management.

Cross-Cloud

Interoperability

Centralized policy enforcement across all environments guarantees uniform security practices, no matter where workloads run.

Benefits

Dramatically Reduce Risk

By eliminating static secrets, Akeyless minimizes the attack surface, eliminating one of the most common breach vectors.

Streamlined Compliance

Enforce security policies consistently and retain full audit trails across environments to meet regulatory requirements with ease.

Operational Efficiency at Scale

Save engineering time with native support for cloud IAM, Kubernetes, and on-prem environments. Simplify onboarding and scaling workloads.

Built for Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Environments

Akeyless doesn’t require a single cloud vendor. Whether you run in AWS, Azure, GCP—or across them all—Akeyless brings consistent identity and access control.

Why Akeyless

Truly Secretless by Design

Unlike legacy solutions, Akeyless ensures that everything is ephemeral, just-in-time, and zero-knowledge.

Single Unified Platform

No more piecemeal integrations. Akeyless brings together identity federation, secrets management, and access control under one platform.

Cloud-Native and Standards-Aligned

Natively integrated with cloud IAM and SPIFFE/SPIRE frameworks to make identity work with your infrastructure—not around it.

Ready to Eliminate Machine Credentials for Good?

See Akeyless Workload Identity Federation in action and explore how you can go truly secretless.