John Martinez

Technical Evangelist, has had a long 30+ year career in systems engineering and architecture, but has spent the last 13+ years working on the Cloud, and specifically, Cloud Security. He's currently the Technical Evangelist at StrongDM, taking the message of Zero Trust Privileged Access Management (PAM) to the world. As a practitioner, he architected and created cloud automation, DevOps, and security and compliance solutions at Netflix and Adobe. He worked closely with customers at Evident.io, where he was telling the world about how cloud security should be done at conferences, meetups and customer sessions. Before coming to StrongDM, he lead an innovations and solutions team at Palo Alto Networks, working across many of the company's security products.

StrongDM has been featured in Forbes, The New Stack, VentureBeat, DevOps.com, TechCrunch, and Fortune.

Expertise

Authentication, Privileged Access Management, Security, Observability, Zero Trust, Access, Identity and Access Management, Compliance, ISO 27001, Compare

Latest blog posts from John

Token-based Authentication: Everything You Need to Know

Secured authentication to databases and applications is crucial to enterprise cybersecurity management. Unfortunately, 82% of all breaches involve human error, including misused or compromised credentials that give threat actors unauthorized access to network resources. Luckily, there’s a solution that ensures security without the risks that come with traditional, credential-based authentication. This article discusses token-based authentication and explains why it's a reliable and flexible

Service Accounts: Definition, Best Practices, Security, and More

Is your organization overwhelmed by rampant service account sprawl? Rest assured, you can regain control. Modern Privileged Account Management (PAM) tools and practices empower you to overcome the challenges of unchecked service accounts. The information in this article will help you understand the meaning of service accounts, so you can manage your organization’s service accounts more effectively and mitigate their risks. Robust security is attainable for all your privileged accounts.

Cloud Native Security: Definition, Challenges, and Solutions

Cloud native security solutions can help organizations like yours protect your cloud resources, no matter when you transitioned to the cloud. Here’s everything you need to know about integrating cloud native security.

11 Efficient Log Management Best Practices to Know in 2025

In this article, we will spotlight 11 log management best practices you should know to build efficient logging and monitoring programs. You’ll learn how to establish policies and take a proactive approach to collecting, analyzing, and storing business-critical log data. By the end of this article, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how logs can help security teams detect suspicious activity, address system performance issues, identify trends and opportunities, improve regulatory compliance,

PAM Pricing Simplified: Your Cost and ROI Explained

The cost of a privileged access management (PAM) solution goes beyond the licensing fees. While it’s tempting to look only at the initial costs, evaluating privileged access management pricing includes examining other factors to determine whether the solution will provide a real Return on Investment (ROI) or cause more problems than it solves.

Privilege Elevation and Delegation Management (PEDM) Explained

In this article, we’ll explore Privileged Elevation and Delegation Management (PEDM). You’ll learn how PEDM works and how it mitigates the risks associated with poorly managed privileged accounts. By the end of this article, you’ll understand why PEDM is an important security strategy and how businesses can use PEDM to manage privileged access and prevent cyberattacks.

What is an Attack Vector? 15 Common Attack Vectors to Know

In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into attack vectors. You’ll learn what they are, the most common types, how they’re used, and why hackers continually use them to exploit vulnerabilities. By the end of this article, you'll have a thorough understanding of the fifteen most common types of attack vectors and what you can do to prevent your organization from falling victim to them.

What Are Zero Standing Privileges (ZSP)? (And How They Work)

Securing sensitive company data starts with limiting who can access that data, and adopting a zero standing privileges security approach is a great way to control access. In this article, we’ll discuss what zero standing privileges (ZSP) are, how standing privileges are created, and how just-in-time access makes a ZSP model feasible. We’ll explore the risks that accompany standing privileges, the benefits of a zero standing privilege philosophy, and best practices to follow when adopting a ZSP

Top 7 Identity and Access Management (IAM) Solutions in 2025

In this article, we’ll compare the top IAM solutions: StrongDM, CyberArk Identity, Okta, BeyondTrust, ManageEngine AD360, Saviynt, and Twingate. We’ll explore what business needs identity and access management solutions address, and review the pros and cons of each. By the end of this article, you’ll know how to choose the right IAM solution for your organization.

Understanding ISO 27001 Controls [Guide to Annex A]

In this article, we’ll cover the 14 specific categories of the ISO 27001 Annex A controls. You'll learn how to decide which ISO 27001 framework controls to implement and who should be involved in the implementation process. By the end of this article, you'll have a basic understanding of ISO 27001 Annex A controls and how to implement them in your organization.

Zero Trust Memo From Executive Order 14028 (TL;DR Version)

It is no surprise that President Joe Biden issued a Zero Trust executive order to protect federal government networks. On May 12, 2021, recognizing the dire situation, Executive Order (EO) 14028 was issued, focusing on protecting the U.S. from cybercriminals and cyberattacks. EO 14028 specifically recommends Zero Trust Architecture as necessary to defend the nation against threat actors. This post provides a summary of Executive Order 14028.

Competitors & Alternatives to Saviynt

Saviynt is a popular identity and access management solution (IAM), but it may not be the best choice for every organization. In this article, we’ll explore powerful alternatives to Saviynt for companies with cloud-first IT infrastructure. By the end of this article, you’ll know whether Saviynt or one of these Saviynt competitors is the right fit for you.

What Is Automated Provisioning? Benefits, How It Works & More

In this article, we’ll explain the concept of automated provisioning and how it's used in identity and access management. You'll learn about the importance of automated provisioning in an organization's IT management and its benefits to businesses and system administrators. By the end of this article, you'll have a deep understanding of automated provisioning and how it works.

Enterprise Cloud Security Guide for 2025 and Beyond

Enterprise cloud security is quickly becoming a cybersecurity best practice for large organizations. In this article, we’ll explore what enterprise cloud security is, why it’s important, and the challenges organizations experience with enterprise cloud adoption. You’ll learn about common cloud security issues and the best practices you should adopt to avoid those issues. By the end of this article, you’ll feel confident choosing the right enterprise cloud solution for your organization

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