Ping Identity
Enterprise identity and access management software company serving workforce, customer, partner, and machine identity use cases.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Ping Identity is a United States-based enterprise software company focused on identity and access management, authentication, federation, authorization, directory services, and continuous identity assurance. Founded in Denver in 2002 by Andre Durand and Bryan Field-Elliot, the company developed around the need to connect users and applications securely across organizational boundaries. Its technology is designed for complex enterprises that need to manage employees, customers, business partners, applications, devices, and other digital identities across on-premises infrastructure, private clouds, and public-cloud environments. The company's portfolio has historically included PingFederate for federated single sign-on and identity federation, PingAccess for application access management, PingDirectory for high-volume identity data storage, PingAuthorize for policy-based authorization, PingID for multifactor authentication, PingOne as a cloud identity platform, and PingIntelligence for analytics and threat-detection capabilities. Together, these products address authentication, access policy, identity lifecycle and data management, risk-aware security, and digital experience requirements. Ping has positioned its products as components of an enterprise identity architecture rather than as a single-purpose login service. Ping Identity serves several overlapping segments. Workforce identity products help organizations secure employee access to applications and infrastructure. Customer and partner identity capabilities support registration, authentication, delegation, and access for external users. The company has also described use cases involving application programming interfaces, edge environments, connected devices, and artificial-intelligence-related workloads, where organizations need to establish and continuously evaluate the identity of users, services, and machines. The company received venture and growth investment during its expansion, including funding associated with Appian Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, Triangle Peak Partners, DFJ Growth, W Capital Partners, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Vista Equity Partners acquired majority ownership in 2016 in a leveraged buyout. Rather than selling the business privately, Vista later brought Ping Identity Holding Corp. to the New York Stock Exchange in 2019 through an initial public offering. Ping was subsequently acquired by Thoma Bravo in an all-cash transaction announced in 2022 and completed later that year, returning the business to private ownership. Thoma Bravo expanded its identity-security portfolio through the acquisition of ForgeRock, completed in 2023. ForgeRock was then integrated into Ping Identity. The combination broadened Ping's identity capabilities and reinforced its position in the enterprise identity market. Ping operates internationally through offices and commercial activities in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. Its competitive environment includes Microsoft, Okta, CyberArk, IBM, SailPoint, and Cisco, among other security and enterprise-software providers.
History
Ping Identity was established in Denver, Colorado, in 2002 by Andre Durand and Bryan Field-Elliot. The company entered the enterprise software market as organizations increasingly needed to provide employees, customers, partners, and applications with secure access across multiple systems. Its early and continuing specialization has been federated identity management: allowing identities and authentication decisions to work across organizational and technical boundaries while reducing the need for separate credentials for every application. Over time, Ping expanded from federation and single sign-on into a broader identity and access management portfolio. PingFederate became associated with federation and enterprise single sign-on, while PingAccess addressed application access controls. PingDirectory provided an identity data store for large-scale deployments, and PingAuthorize added policy-based control over access to services and information. PingID extended the portfolio into multifactor authentication, and PingOne provided cloud-delivered identity capabilities. PingIntelligence added analytics and threat-detection functions intended to help identify abnormal or malicious behavior involving APIs and digital identities. The business raised outside capital as it developed. The reference record identifies an initial Series A round in 2004 and later financing connected with Appian Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, Triangle Peak Partners, DFJ Growth, W Capital Partners, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. In 2016, Vista Equity Partners acquired majority ownership of Ping Identity through a leveraged buyout. The transaction placed the company within an investment portfolio focused on enterprise software and technology businesses. Vista subsequently pursued a public-market strategy. In September 2019, Ping Identity Holding Corp. completed an initial public offering led by Goldman Sachs and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The offering marked the first public listing of a company taken public by Vista Holdings, and Vista maintained majority ownership after the flotation. Public ownership gave Ping access to the capital markets while preserving Vista's controlling position. The company's next major ownership transition came in 2022. Thoma Bravo agreed to acquire Ping Identity in an all-cash transaction and completed the purchase in October of that year. The transaction returned Ping Identity to private ownership. Thoma Bravo then expanded its identity-management interests by acquiring ForgeRock. Completion of the ForgeRock acquisition in 2023 was followed by the integration of ForgeRock into Ping Identity. The combined organization operates in an identity-security market that includes Microsoft, Okta, CyberArk, IBM, SailPoint, and Cisco. Ping's stated area of differentiation is its ability to support complex enterprise identity architectures across workforce, customer, partner, application, API, edge, and machine contexts. Its platform is used to connect cloud and legacy environments, apply authentication and authorization policies, and provide organizations with more continuous visibility into identity-related risk. Ping Identity maintains global operations, including activity and offices in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.
- 2023
ForgeRock integration
[1]After Thoma Bravo completes its acquisition of ForgeRock, ForgeRock is integrated into Ping Identity.
- 2022
Thoma Bravo acquisition
[1]Thoma Bravo agrees to acquire Ping Identity in an all-cash transaction and completes the deal in October.
- 2019
Initial public offering
[1]Ping Identity Holding Corp. lists on the New York Stock Exchange through an IPO backed by Vista Equity Partners.
- 2016
Vista Equity Partners acquires majority ownership
[1]Vista Equity Partners acquires majority ownership of Ping Identity through a leveraged buyout.
- 2004
Initial Series A financing
[1]The company begins its documented outside-financing history with a Series A round.
- 2002
Ping Identity is founded
[1]Andre Durand and Bryan Field-Elliot establish Ping Identity in Denver, Colorado, focusing on enterprise identity and access management.
Products and positioning
Enterprise-grade identity security and access management platform for workforce, customer, partner, application, machine, and cloud environments.
Cloud identity platform
PingOne
PingOne is Ping Identity's cloud-oriented identity platform. It is designed to support identity services across workforce, customer, and partner scenarios, including authentication, access management, and digital identity experiences. The offering helps organizations combine cloud services with existing enterprise systems rather than treating cloud identity as an isolated deployment.
Federated identity and single sign-on
PingFederate
PingFederate provides federation and single sign-on capabilities for enterprise applications and services. It enables organizations to exchange authentication and identity information across domains and connect users to multiple applications through centrally managed identity relationships. It has been one of Ping Identity's core products for hybrid and complex enterprise environments.
Multifactor authentication
PingID
PingID is a multifactor authentication product intended to strengthen access controls beyond passwords. It supports enterprise authentication workflows for workforce and other users, helping organizations apply additional verification when users access applications, systems, or sensitive resources.
Application and API access management
PingAccess
PingAccess manages access to applications and services by applying identity-aware controls between users, applications, and protected resources. It is intended for organizations that need to extend consistent access policies across modern web applications, APIs, and hybrid technology environments.
Identity directory
PingDirectory
PingDirectory is an identity data store designed for enterprise-scale identity information. It supports the storage and retrieval of user and identity records for authentication, authorization, and digital identity applications, particularly where organizations require substantial scale and integration with other identity services.
Authorization and access policy
PingAuthorize
PingAuthorize provides policy-based authorization for controlling access to data, applications, and services. It complements authentication by determining what an already identified user, application, or service is permitted to do under defined organizational rules.
Identity and API threat detection
PingIntelligence
PingIntelligence applies analytics and artificial-intelligence-related capabilities to identity and API security use cases. It is intended to help organizations detect suspicious activity and identify threats involving digital interactions, services, and application programming interfaces.
Controversies
2026
Nexiden sues Ping Identity alleging MFA patent infringement
Texas-based Nexiden filed a lawsuit against Ping Identity alleging that the PingID mobile app and related services infringe two of its patents covering secure mobile device registration and authentication using public key cryptography. Nexiden says it sent notice of the patents and offered to license the technology in 2023 and 2024, and alleges Ping continued knowing infringement. Nexiden seeks an injunction and damages for past, present and future infringement.
Brand decisions
2023
Integration of ForgeRockM&ABackground
Thoma Bravo's acquisition of ForgeRock created an opportunity to combine ForgeRock's identity capabilities with Ping Identity's enterprise IAM portfolio.
Action taken
After completing the ForgeRock acquisition, Thoma Bravo announced that ForgeRock would be integrated into Ping Identity.
Aftermath
The integration broadened the capabilities and market scope of the Ping Identity organization.
2022
Sale to Thoma BravoM&ABackground
Thoma Bravo sought to expand its enterprise-software and identity-security holdings through the acquisition of Ping Identity.
Action taken
Thoma Bravo agreed to acquire Ping Identity in an all-cash transaction and completed the acquisition in October 2022.
Aftermath
Ping Identity returned to private ownership and became part of Thoma Bravo's broader identity and security portfolio.
Reported transaction value. Approximately $2.8 billion (2022 acquisition announcement)
2019
Pursuit of a public listingStrategyBackground
Vista Equity Partners chose to take Ping Identity public rather than sell the company privately, giving the business a public-market listing while preserving Vista's majority ownership.
Action taken
Ping Identity Holding Corp. completed an initial public offering and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Aftermath
The listing made Ping Identity a publicly traded enterprise-software company until its acquisition by Thoma Bravo in 2022.
Recent events
Nexiden sues Ping Identity alleging MFA patent infringement[3]
Reported:
Texas-based Nexiden filed a lawsuit against Ping Identity alleging that the PingID mobile app and related services infringe two of its patents covering secure mobile device registration and authentication using public key cryptography. Nexiden says it sent notice of the patents and offered to license the technology in 2023 and 2024, and alleges Ping continued knowing infringement. Nexiden seeks an injunction and damages for past, present and future infringement.
- Unconfirmed
CyberRisk Alliance acquires Identiverse Conference[4]
Reported:
CyberRisk Alliance announced that it had acquired the Identiverse Conference. Ping Identity, which founded the conference, was to remain a founding sponsor and continue supporting its expansion strategy.
- Unconfirmed
Ping Identity acquires SecuredTouch[5]
Ping Identity bought bot detection and mitigation startup SecuredTouch. The article says SecuredTouch’s offering would be available as a standalone product or as part of the Ping One Cloud Platform; the acquisition terms were not disclosed.
Ping Identity appoints Paul Martin to its board[6]
Reported:
Ping Identity announced the appointment of Paul Martin to its board of directors.
Ping Identity announces acquisition of ShoCard[7]
Reported:
Ping Identity announced its acquisition of ShoCard, whose technology it said would be integrated into the Ping Platform and made available to Ping customers. The announcement described the deal as advancing Ping Identity's personal identity offering.
Sources9 sources
- 1Ping Identityen.wikipedia.org
- 2Ping Identity official websitepingidentity.com
- 3Nexiden sues Ping Identity alleging MFA patent infringementbiometricupdate.com
- 4CyberRisk Alliance收购Identiverse Conferencec-mw.net
- 5Ping Identity收购SecuredTouchcrn.com
- 6Ping Identity 任命 Paul Martin 为董事会成员infosecurity-magazine.com
- 7Ping Identity宣布收购ShoCardfinanznachrichten.de
- 8Ping Identity Acquires SecuredTouchfinance.yahoo.com
- 9Ping Identity Acquires ShoCard – Global Security Mag Onlineglobalsecuritymag.com
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