A Fortune 500 Pharma Giant’s Formula for Seamless PIAM (Physical Identity & Access Management)

Security Isn’t Just About Doors. It’s About Protecting the Formula.

In the pharmaceutical industry, innovation saves lives. But behind every new drug, every breakthrough therapy, and every production milestone lies a hidden foundation: trust in the security of the environment where that science happens.

Labs, clean rooms, cold chains, and manufacturing lines—all of these spaces are physical intersections of science and risk. One unauthorized person. One unmonitored door. One non-compliant contractor. That’s all it takes for millions of dollars in R&D—and years of regulatory work—to unravel.

That’s why a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical leader asked the question every industry should:“Why are we still using badges, paper logs, and siloed access systems to protect the heart of our company?”

And the answer? It wasn’t more locks.

It was a reimagined identity experience.

The company partnered with Soloinsight’s CloudGate PIAM platform to reengineer its entire physical access strategy—not as a security upgrade, but as a catalyst for operational precision, compliance, and innovation.

The Problem Wasn’t Policy. It Was Visibility.

This pharmaceutical manufacturer had top-tier protocols. But protocols mean nothing when systems don’t talk.

Each facility had its own access control database. Lab clearance lists were maintained in spreadsheets. Contractor logs were managed via emails and front desk notebooks. Revocation of credentials often took hours—sometimes days.

The truth was sobering: security wasn’t proactive. It was patched together.

• Lab technicians held active credentials even after transferring departments.

• Contractor badges remained active weeks after projects ended.

• Audits required days of combing through disjointed logs.

In an industry where every access attempt could be audited by the FDA or the DEA, that kind of fragmentation wasn’t just inefficient—it was dangerous.

Seamless PIAM: A New Identity Formula

The company chose CloudGate to do more than unify access. They chose it to elevate identity into a smart, secure, and seamless part of every workflow.

CloudGate transformed their ecosystem across five strategic dimensions:

1. Biometric Authentication

2. Wallet-Based Credentials

3. Contractor Compliance Automation

4. Real-Time Auditability

5. Zero Trust Identity Architecture

Each element combined into a platform that felt not like a tool—but like infrastructure for trust.

TRA Face ID: Zero Touch. Zero Doubt.

In pharmaceutical environments, hygiene is non-negotiable. Touch-based systems risk contamination. Badge sharing undermines accountability. That’s where TRA Face ID changed the equation.

• High-resolution facial authentication at cleanroom and lab entrances

• Spoof-proof liveness detection to prevent deepfake or photo hacks

• Fast, frictionless entry for hundreds of employees and scientists daily

Example: In their flagship R&D center, TRA Face ID replaced a legacy keycard system. Within 60 days:

• Tailgating incidents dropped by 91%

• Entry time per employee fell by 37%

• Satisfaction scores from lab supervisors skyrocketed

Because this wasn’t just about preventing intrusions. It was about empowering people to focus on science—not credentials.

Digital Wallets: Goodbye Badges, Hello Intelligence

Physical badges break. They get lost. They’re loaned out. And worse, they can’t adapt in real time.

With CloudGate’s mobile wallet credentials, every employee, researcher, and executive received secure, encrypted credentials on their smartphones.

These credentials:

• Auto-update based on role, department, or project

• Can be remotely revoked or modified instantly

• Support multi-factor authentication (Face ID, device unlock, time-of-day restrictions)

From the tablet-wielding quality inspector to the supply chain coordinator walking a cold-storage dock—everyone had identity that moved as fast as they did.

And no more badge printers. No more plastic. No more lag.

Contractor Chaos, Controlled

This pharmaceutical giant manages a rotating workforce of:

• HVAC contractors servicing high-pressure cleanrooms

• Clinical trial vendors with temporary lab access

• Specialized equipment engineers from across the globe

Previously, contractor onboarding took 3–5 days. Background checks, training logs, and ID card issuance were fragmented and inconsistent.

CloudGate’s Contractor Compliance Module unified it all.

• Contractors self-register through a secure portal

• Background checks, safety certifications, and compliance policies are validated before approval

• Access is issued digitally and expires automatically with project timelines

Impact:

• Onboarding time dropped by 72%

• Security incidents involving expired credentials dropped to zero

• Compliance teams could now prove access integrity during audits with a single click

Real-Time Compliance, Real-World Control

In pharma, you don’t just track ingredients—you track access.

CloudGate delivered:

• A unified, cloud-based dashboard across all production, R&D, and admin facilities

• Audit logs updated in real time with biometric verification data

• Alerts and analytics that flagged policy violations (e.g., unauthorized attempts, off-hours entry)

The compliance team could now conduct mock audits in minutes—and walk into FDA reviews with confidence.

And when a third-party auditor asked to verify who accessed the main biologics formulation room last Tuesday between 3–5 p.m.? The answer came in five seconds.

Zero Trust in Every Corridor

Pharmaceutical security is no longer about physical gates. It’s about logical zones, dynamic identities, and constant revalidation.

With CloudGate, access is granted not once—but every time.

• A packaging technician must complete weekly GMP refreshers before entering high-grade zones

• A researcher’s access auto-adjusts based on whether a trial has moved to a new phase

• A visitor from a partner biotech firm can only access designated conference spaces—never beyond

This is Zero Trust applied to the physical world—where clearance isn’t assumed, it’s earned in real time.

Future-Proofing with Intelligence

This pharma leader isn’t stopping at efficiency. They’re preparing for what’s next:

• AI-driven behavior analytics to predict access anomalies

• Digital twin simulations for access threat rehearsals

• Blockchain-integrated credentials for global identity portability across partner sites

In a sector defined by compliance, precision, and intellectual property protection, this company made the boldest move of all: they made identity the center of their operations.

And the result wasn’t just safer labs—it was smarter science.

Results That Changed the Culture

Within six months:

• 98% decrease in credential-related compliance findings

• Zero badge-related rejections in lab environments

• Full biometric coverage at all R&D sites

• Employee satisfaction with access experience up by 45%

But more importantly, identity stopped being a checkpoint. It became a channel.

A channel for focus. For integrity. For scientific acceleration.

Conclusion: When Identity Works, Innovation Flows

Steve Jobs once said, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

In the pharmaceutical world, identity has to work—at scale, under pressure, and without friction.

Soloinsight’s CloudGate Seamless PIAM platform allowed one of the world’s most vital companies to finally treat physical identity with the same rigor, intelligence, and elegance they apply to their formulations.

Because when identity becomes seamless, science becomes unstoppable.

Contact Soloinsight for a Personalized Demo

If you’re ready to upgrade your facility security, streamline contractor compliance, and achieve audit-proof identity management across your pharmaceutical enterprise—start with Soloinsight.

Contact us today to schedule a personalized demo of the CloudGate PIAM platform and see how we help pharma innovate with confidence, clarity, and control.

Contact us