In a recent conversation with an AI security analyst, we heard something startling: When asked how many discrete AI agent projects they were tracking at a single enterprise, the answer came back 22 (that they know about!) Twenty two separate implementations, each with its own tooling, and permission and governance requirements. Having to govern each one independently? Good luck. 

AI initiatives aren’t just coming from IT. They’re coming from marketing, finance, customer success, and sales. Governance hasn’t caught up. 

This is why Barndoor’s product strategy has evolved into two distinct but connected offerings. We started on the enterprise side, giving IT and security teams a centralized control plane to govern AI agents across every tool, team, and platform. As we talked to more customers, a second pain point came up: Knowledge workers aren’t waiting for IT to figure this out. They want AI now, connected to the systems they already use. 

So we built Venn.ai, an easy-to-use product that meets end users where they are – supporting the popular AI tools and workplace applications they’re working in. Among our early adopters, we found that once they experience what AI can actually do across their systems, they also start asking the right questions about how security, permissions, and governance should work in an AI-first environment. We think this is a good thing. 

“But, we already have Okta”

So going back to the 22 AI agents – who’s governing them? The instinct has been to hand this problem to the identity team. 

There’s already Okta. Or Entra. They can handle AI agents, too, right? 

They can’t. Not because they’re bad products, but because they were built for a different world centered around human identities and their onboard, offboard, login, logout processes. They weren’t built for agentic runtime governance, controlling what an AI agent actually does after access is granted.

Barndoor CEO Oren Michels recently said this: “The traditional security issue is when a bad person outside or unauthorized person inside tries to do nefarious things. And now we have a new version –  a perfectly authorized person inside, using a tool they’re allowed to use, to do something they’re allowed to do. And bad things happen because the whole thing is non-deterministic.”

Identity alone can’t handle the AI governance gap. 

Two products, one strategy

Barndoor’s approach addresses this through two product investments.

For enterprise teams, Barndoor serves as a centralized control plane for every AI agent, MCP connection, and tool interaction across your organization. It gives IT and security teams fine-grained access control (not just who can access what, but under what conditions, with what tools, in which context), observability, and lifecycle management as your MCP library grows and changes. It connects into your existing identity provider – Okta, Entra, whatever you run –  with Barndoor helping you govern the AI agents that come into the picture. 

For individual knowledge workers, there’s Venn. 

Venn is the product-led answer to this issue – a focused, easy-to-use interface that connects AI to the business tools knowledge workers already use, with governance built in. 

How to know which one you need

If you’re an IT, security, or AI governance leader trying to get control across multiple teams, platforms, or agent projects, start with Barndoor. You need centralized policy management, visibility across all your MCPs, and fine-grained access control that scales as your AI stack grows.

If you’re a knowledge worker, team lead, or department head who wants to use AI now and can’t wait for enterprise rollout, start with Venn. You’ll connect your tools, work more effectively, and in many cases, you’ll set the example of an AI workflow innovator who’s also security minded! 

Don’t let one AI vendor trap your governance 

No one should trust an AI company to govern itself. The model providers are racing to connect to everything: your calendar, your CRM, your financial systems, which is why it’s important to make sure a governance control plane exists before the connections multiply beyond what any team can manually track.

Don’t lock AI down. Figure out a way to say yes to AI, safely and securely. 

Are you an enterprise head of AI, IT, or security trying to get control of agent sprawl? Talk to us about Barndoor or start a free trial. 

Are you a knowledge worker who wants AI working across your tools today? Try Venn free.