Identity management is an essential factor for today’s company. However, as the organization scales up and identity becomes more extensive and crosses over different systems, it is going to be difficult to manage, and there are many issues related to it, such as issues due to multiple systems and data silos and security issues. Adopting an identity management system can help to achieve these goals much more effectively, easily, and securely.
Identity management refers to the activities and tools associated with the administration of digital identities from their inception to their termination. User management covers user management aspects such as user provisioning, user authentication, user authorization and access control. In the past, different departments in an organization have implemented disparate identity solutions, which results in disparate data, disparate policies and added complexity.
An identity management solution gives the organization a single framework for managing identities to integrate identity across many systems. This also makes identity management easier, secure, compliant and operationally efficient, all in one sweeping solution.
Advantages of a Consolidated Identity Management System
There are many advantages of using a centralized identity management solution, which may have a direct effect on your company’s performance and development. Here are some key advantages:
- Centralized Identity Management: An identity management system is a centralized solution that unifies all user identities into a single database instead of having multiple “silos” in an organization’s applications and systems. This centralized approach enhances user provisioning, deprovisioning and access management, cuts the time and efforts required hence minimizing errors.
- Improved Security and Compliance: When you adopt a solution that pools identity management processes, you get the benefits of federally enforced security policies and access control throughout your organization. This buys protection from access to such information and resources therefore minimizing cases of data leaks and compliance issues.
- Enhanced User Experience: It means that with the help of a unique identity platform, users will be able to work in different applications and services without inputting their credentials again and again. This makes working easier, reduces stress, and increases total customer satisfaction.
- Scalability and Flexibility: A strong, consolidated identity fabric is built to increase in complexity as your organization evolves, integrating new applications, more users, and new devices into the flow. Moreover, it could easily accommodate changes in business needs and can easily interface with other technologies.
- Increased Operational Efficiency: When you eliminate duplications in identity management, you will be able to cut the number of time you have to intervene manually and automate most activities thus saving a lot of time and money for your organization.
Unified Identity Platform Components
It should be noted that there are a number of features that a single unified identity platform should incorporate to satisfy the various requirements of contemporary organizations. Here are some essential components to look for:
- Single Sign-On (SSO): SSO is useful where the user is required to log into several applications and services to perform a given task, which often leads to password fatigue.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA provides an added security feature by adding an extra layer of authentication that is other than the traditional username and password, for instance, fingerprint, token or password generated once.
- User Provisioning and Deprovisioning: Through the integration of user provisioning and de-provisioning, there is proper management of user accounts where new accounts are created, existing changed or deactivated in a centralized manner across the systems in question.
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): RBAC provides you with an organized way of granting privileges depending on the role that a user occupies in an organization so that the user may only access the resources that he or she requires for the job.
- Audit Trails and Reporting: A unified identity platform must be able to offer full audit trials and reports so you can track users’ actions, changes, and more, all while being compliant with legal and industry standards.
- Self-Service Portal: A self-service portal enables users to perform account management, modification of self-information, password change, and request for resources on their own, thus relieving the IT workers’ workload.
- Integration Capabilities: A strong identity platform must support various applications, databases, directories, and cloud services to have a harmonized identity management system.
Optimizing Business Processes with a Single Identity Solution
In addition to improving security, a single identity management platform can also greatly improve your business processes, which will result in more efficiency. As different tasks related to identity management are often performed manually or involve multiple steps, their consolidation can bring a lot of benefits, such as time and cost reduction for your organization.
Another advantage of using a unified identity platform is that implementing it allow a smooth integration of applications and services for users. SSO capabilities, that allow users to login into one application and then use that same login information for other applications, helps to avoid the problem of having to constantly remember numerous passwords. It also helps to increase satisfaction of the users, as well as assist in decreasing the load on the IT staff.
It also means that a unified identity platform can also make the operation of user accounts and access control easier. Provisioning and de-provisioning of accounts is an effective way of creating, modifying or deactivating a user account once possible across all the connected systems.
A self-service portal helps users to change passwords, add or modify personal data, and submit a request for access to the resources. This plan serves not only the purpose of lightening the load off of IT personnel but also encourages users to be more self-directed and responsible.
You can also easily integrate applications, databases, directories, and cloud services with the help of the integration capabilities of a unified identity platform, which creates an identity management system. Integrations allow the ability of the various systems to forward and receive data from other systems hence breaking the vice of data silos to improve collaboration and decision making all throughout your organization.
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Conclusion
An identity management solution provides a single integrated identity management solution that helps organizations manage identity across multiple systems and applications, as well as increase security, efficiency and business value.
When identity management processes are integrated, strong authentication measures are in place, and fine-grained access control can be provided, a centralized identity platform strengthens your organization’s security and minimizes the likelihood of a data breach and compliance with legal standards.
Through automated user provisioning and self-service portals and integration capabilities, it means that your organization saves time and money on these tasks and can direct its efforts in areas that will help it grow.
