Identity Management Success

To review, the key functions of a full IdM / IAM suite are:

1. Directory Services (LDAP, Meta directories, Virtual Directories, etc.)
2. Provisioning (Getting accounts into and out of systems)
3. Workflow (Business rules and processes)
4. Centralized Access Control Management (RBAC / SSO)
5. Authorization Management (What can accounts do, once authenticated)
6. Auditing and Reporting (What, where, why, when, how)
7. Federation (Passing user and system credentials between partners and “foreign” systems
8. Services Layer (For applications to consume external Identity services)
9. Integration Layer (Templates, connectors, interfaces, API’s)

With requirements gathered, next determine where your project is going. What are the business drivers? What is the minimum requirement(s)? What is the maximum requirement(s)? Answering these questions correctly, will ensure that you purchase no more, or no less than what you need. But…..what if you already have everything you need in house?

Many organizations already have some if not all of the necessary infrastructure and software available to initiate an Identity Management Program. Ensure that the following are factored into your needs assessment. Chances are you have several of the following platforms/services already in place:

–Active Directory
–Sun One / iPlanet Directory Service
–Oracle / Sybase / MySQL /Microsoft SQL Database
–Current Web Server (Apache 2.x, IIS 5.x / 6.x)
–Solaris 9.x, 10.x / Windows 2003 / Linux 2.6x kernel
–Robust WAN links

Consider your existing platforms and services carefully, then determine what you need. Links Business Group IdM Consultants can assist with your needs analysis, program construction, vendor selection (if necessary,) and implementation services. Many vendors will try and sell you on a large packaged solution. While sometimes an integrated suite may be the best approach, other times a particular component or module is all that is required. For instance, your company may have already implemented Web Single Sign On, but does not have a strong auditing and reporting mechanism. Or, you may only need to centralize the provisioning function to reduce cost, and increase efficiency. Or, your development team may require external Identity services that can improve speed, increase efficiency, and reduce time to market.

Looking to fast track your Identity Program to the “future” state? Contact Links Business Group today to discuss the new options that exist in the Open Source, and “mixed” source worlds. There are many exciting breakthroughs in the world of Digital Identity Management, and we can help put your organization on the fast track to the future. Likewise, we can also help embrace and extend existing investments in legacy infrastructure.