Updated on January 29, 2024
Identity and access management (IAM) may be the most important function IT performs. It鈥檚 how you ensure people have access to the resources they need to get their jobs done, while also keeping those same people (and the corporate digital assets they access) secure.
Done well, IAM means the mailroom clerk doesn鈥檛 have access to the company鈥檚 financial records, but your CFO does. Done poorly, it can be catastrophic for a company, depending on what kind of access that identity was given.
In an increasingly hybrid workplace, getting identity and access management right is more important to IT departments than ever before. Read on to learn everything you need to know about what IAM is, and how to architect an IAM system.
What is Identity and Access Management?
According to , 鈥淚AM is the security discipline that enables the right individuals to access the right resources at the right times and for the right reasons.鈥� In other words, it鈥檚 a category of IT solutions that securely manages and connects users to IT resources like devices, applications, files, networks, and more using unique user profiles, called identities.
An identity can be configured for each unique user, giving them controlled access to things like WiFi and company servers, while restricting access for digital assets they don鈥檛 need to do their job.
You achieve IAM using core directory services platforms, which store and federate user identities to a wide variety of IT resources. Those resources also look to the core directory services database, called identity providers (IdPs), as the single source of truth for authenticating and authorizing user access. IdPs streamline the IAM process by giving IT teams a one-stop shop for user and device management.
Do You Need Identity Access Management?
Simply put, with hybrid workplaces and remote employees becoming the norm, not having an IAM strategy is no longer an option. With identity compromises as the number one cause of data breaches, IAM is also, perhaps, the number one security tool. Remote environments have forced companies鈥� overall IT strategy to move from network-based to people-based.
Today, IT鈥檚 main job is determining how best to protect remote workers鈥� identities while helping them securely access the resources they need to work. IAM drives that idea, because it鈥檚 all about individual, personal security.
A holistic cloud IAM platform includes directory services and single sign-on capabilities that connect users to their IT resources through Zero Trust principles, while giving IT significant control over identities. A modern IAM platform provides users with a single identity to remember and use, while giving IT admins the highest level of control and centralization.
While there are obvious initial benefits to IAM, it may not feel necessary for every enterprise, even though it is. Let鈥檚 get into some of the benefits and challenges to understand why all organizations can benefit from IAM.
IAM Benefits
Identity access management represents the perfect marriage of productivity, security, and access to best-in-class tools.
With IAM, employees use a predetermined 鈥渋dentity鈥� to gain secure access to the IT resources they need to do their job. The primary benefit for these end users is that processes are streamlined and smooth, allowing them to quickly get access to new resources via a single set of credentials in order to get work done faster. They no longer have to remember (or worse, reuse) passwords for each resource they access, and the overall login experience is improved dramatically.
On the flipside, IAM gives IT one centralized place to control these assets from. Today鈥檚 IT admins have to be able to maintain visibility and control on Windows, Mac, and Linux endpoints, connect users to a large number of on-prem and web resources, and integrate with the cloud, all while maintaining data security.
SaaS-based IAM solutions such as next generation Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) give admins a unified control platform to manage all these factors in one place. An admin can login remotely to their IAM platform and provision or deprovision users, create or edit user identities, create policies for access and step-up authentication, and manage troubleshooting, all without leaving the application.
Cloud-based identity and access management solutions also increase data security and support identity compliance initiatives such as GDPR, PCI, and HIPAA. It鈥檚 reported that go under within six months of a cyberattack, making security more critical than ever before. IAM gives IT admins the control to secure digital assets and protect their company from cyberattacks.
Learn more about the benefits of IDaaS, compare IAM vs. IDaaS, and compare IAM vs IdP.
IAM Challenges
The newly diversified workplace with remote employees working on multiple platforms has complicated the IAM landscape.
In the past, IAM systems were easier to manage, because users needed only two or three resources to do their job, and the workplace was dominated by Windows systems which were all located on-prem. Users also came into a physical office where IT could control the network and overall environment.
IAM began to evolve as