Activate IAM develops AI-powered identity Teams Assistant through AWS supported project
Activate IAM develops AI-powered identity Teams Assistant through AWS supported project
Auckland, New Zealand – 10 June 2026 Activate IAM, the Auckland-founded identity automation company acquired by Software Combined in 2024, has developed a new AI-powered identity operations capability that is expected to become a future product feature, following its win at the Software Combined AI Take Flight Challenge 2026.
Designed to simplify identity and access management tasks through Microsoft Teams while maintaining governance and audit controls, the proof-of-concept reflects growing demand for practical AI solutions that improve operational efficiency without sacrificing organisational control.
The challenge brought together submissions from across Software Combined's portfolio of 13 technology companies operating across Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand, with Activate's concept selected as the overall winner.
Developed by the Activate team led by Chief Technology Officer Robbie Burke, with guidance from AWS architects, the concept enables employees to interact with identity and IT services using natural language through Microsoft Teams. Tasks such as creating distribution lists, requesting access, ordering equipment, checking request status, viewing account information, and approving requests can be completed through simple conversational prompts while remaining within governed and auditable workflows..
As part of the challenge programme, members of the Activate team spent two days working alongside AWS specialists in Auckland as the concept progressed through development, with the goal of bringing the capability to market later in 2026.
Megan Capriccio, AWS Account Manager, said Activate's solution stood out for its practical business application and speed of execution.
"They brought a thoughtful, real-world use case that solves a genuine problem for enterprise customers. What impressed us most was how quickly they moved from concept to deployment-ready code, compressing weeks of work into days. It's exactly the kind of outcome the AI Take Flight Challenge was designed to create, and we're looking forward to supporting more of these builds across the Software Combined portfolio."
During development, the concept demonstrated the potential to reduce common identity administration tasks from several minutes to seconds while maintaining approval and audit controls.
Rather than positioning AI as a standalone decision-maker, the project was designed around controlled automation principles, with human oversight, auditable workflows, and the ability for organisations to retain operational control over AI-assisted processes. The concept reflects growing enterprise demand for AI solutions that balance innovation with governance, resilience, and compliance requirements.
Ashley Thomas, CEO of Activate, said customers are increasingly looking for practical ways to apply AI within existing operational frameworks.
"Customers are increasingly asking how AI can improve operational workflows without compromising security, visibility, or control. This concept was designed to explore how AI can support identity operations in a way that is practical for end users, secure, and manageable within real-world enterprise environments."
Robbie Burke, CTO of Activate and designer of the proof-of-concept, said the project focused on making identity operations faster and easier while ensuring organisations maintained clear oversight of automated actions.
"The goal was to explore how AI could simplify common identity and access tasks within tools people already use every day. We deliberately designed the concept so AI remains inside governed and auditable workflows by sitting on top of structured, automated identity processes. Organisations can introduce approval controls, operational boundaries and, where needed, effectively switch AI-driven actions off without disrupting core identity services."
Stefan Jansen, Chief Revenue Officer and Co-Founder of Software Combined, said the project demonstrated the type of practical AI innovation the challenge was designed to encourage.
"Activate's win is a good example of how AI can make someone's day genuinely easier. They took a clunky enterprise process most people put up with, made it feel effortless, and kept the controls their customers rely on. That's the kind of thinking we love seeing across our portfolio."
The Software Combined AI Take Flight Challenge 2026 was launched earlier this year to encourage employees across its portfolio companies to develop practical AI concepts with measurable business value. Winning teams received support during a proof-of-concept build phase, with AWS providing technical guidance as part of the initiative.
Activate plans to continue developing the capability as part of its broader automation roadmap and is exploring opportunities to bring AI-assisted identity operations to customers in the future.
About Activate
Activate is an Auckland-founded identity automation company focused on helping organisations automate the operational work of identity and access. From identity onboarding to access changes, Activate replaces manual administration with simple, reliable automation so that the right people have the right access, at the right time.
Since joining Software Combined in 2024, the company has repositioned around identity orchestration and automation for hybrid and cloud organisations.
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