What is Identity and Access Management?

Identity and Access Management is a business security framework that’s designed for multi perimeter environments to protect and monitor user access. It helps users in managing digital identities, which are scattered both inside and outside enterprises. Identity and access management software manages user access to information and applications across enterprises by undertaking security and risk considerations. These IAM software allow organizations to create, store, delete, and maintain user identities and their related access permissions automatically.

What drives the adoption of Identity and Access Management solution?

Varied technological environments, strict compliance, and increasing digital identities across enterprises are fueling the need for deployment of IAM software. Enterprises manage their identity management costs and become agile by adopting identity & access management competencies.

What is the use of IAM Software?

IAM software technology is used to initiate, capture, manage, and record user identities. It also provides an organization’s staff with permissible access to various enterprise resources. Identity & access management can be described as the management of individual identities, their authorization, and provision of access based on predefined rules. Previously, IAM software was primarily used for providing companies with support to access management and access-related compliance needs. Which was why, organizations back then, struggled to meet the compliance demands, and were able to deploy solutions which were limited only to a few applications and systems.

Nowadays, organizations adopt risk-driven approach and they provide logical access controls. Also, growing emphasis of compliance management and increasing trend of mobility are driving the demand for Identity and Access Management Software in various sectors. Moreover, there has been a rise in the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach, which has led to an increase in workforce adopting mobility.

360Quadrants recognizes the below-listed companies as the best IAM software

Who are the top 10 IAM players?

• Okta
• IBM corporation
• Oracle
• Hitachi
• Onelogin
• Dell inc
• Microsoft corporation
• Beyondtrust
• Rsa securid
• Salesforce

Visionary leaders are the leading identity and access management (IAM) market players in terms of new developments such as product launches, innovative technologies, and the adoption of growth strategies. These players have a broad product offering that caters to most of the regions globally under the best Identity and access management software category. Visionary leaders primarily focused on acquiring the leading market position through their strong financial capabilities and their well-established brand equity. Some of the visionary leaders in the IAM Software market are IBM Corporation, Oracle, Hitachi and Microsoft Corporation etc.

Dynamic Differentiators are established players with very strong business strategies. However, they have a weaker product portfolio compared to the visionary leaders. They generally focus only on a specific type of technology related to the product under best identity and access management software category. Some of the dynamic differentiators in the IAM market are Avatier and Cyberark.

Innovators in the competitive leadership mapping are vendors that have demonstrated substantial product innovations as compared to their competitors. These best Identity and Access Management software companies have focused on product portfolios. However, they do not have very strong growth strategies for their overall business, when compared with the visionary leaders. Some of the innovators in the IAM market are MicroFocus, SAP SE, Kaseya etc.

Emerging companies have niche product and service offerings. Their business strategies are not as strong as that of the established vendors. The emerging vendors in identity and access management software category include the new entrants in the market, emerging in terms of product portfolio and geographic reach, and require time to gain significant traction in the market. Emerging companies in the IAM software market are Watchguard Technologies and Broadcom Limited.

Key Benefits of IAM Systems

• Enhances User Experience - Single Sign on (SSO) does not require the users to recall and input various passwords to gain access to the system. With the help of SSO, users can automatically login every time they move to another connected system. 
• Password management - IAM software allows organizations to spread their SSO competences to SaaS, cloud-based, web-based, and virtual applications. SSO has the ability to combine password management across various domains and attribute-sharing values and protocols.
• Boost Security Profile - IAM software has the ability to validate and approve users based on their access level specified in their directory profiles. IAM solution also manage user access using other aspects to precise roles of the system.
• Progressive Anomalies Monitoring - Recent IAM software solutions embrace technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and risk-based authentication, to recognize and restrict any kind of strange activity.

What are the key features to look at while buying an IAM solution?

• Provisioning - Provisioning provides employees, partners, clients, and other stakeholders with identity manageability features to access resources present on-premises or through cloud. It guarantees that the users can access all the necessary applications and network resources. These solutions manage automated provisioning and de-provisioning of computing resources.
• Directory Services - A directory is a term used for storage and management of identity information and its credentials. IAM solution directory services enable departmental access to corporate services and business resources, which bring together resources, users, access, networks, and access points. This enables high-speed access to identity information by mission-critical systems and applications.
• Single Sign-on - Single Sign-On (SSO) in IAM automates and integrates the functions of IAM processes. It comprises Web and Federated Single Sign-On, and Enterprise Single Sign-On (E-SSO). Single Sign-On (SSO) is a form of authentication, which allows users access to multiple computer platforms or applications present on-premises of an organization or through cloud by logging in only once. SSO allows end users to login using one single set of credentials by eliminating the need to remember passwords. 
• Advanced Authentication - Advanced authentication uses two factors for authenticating that include password and biometric. It is a scalable and flexible solution that incorporates both, risk-based authentication and strong authentication. It includes software revenues from technologies used for biometric recognition of identities, smart cards software, and two, three, & multifactor authentications.
• Password Management - Password management applications enable end users to reset passwords, which significantly alleviate the help desk workload to address password reset requests. Furthermore, these applications ensure enhanced security by implementing strong password policies.
• Audit, Compliance, and Governance - Auditing and user activity monitoring (including privileged and non-privileged users) is an important part of the IAM process. It includes events and activities associated with identities or resources, which are logged into a centralized repository. These IAM solutions provide comprehensive support for auditing, including re-certification, and central analysis of identity-related audit data.

What are the options to deploy IAM solution?

Cloud

• Cloud or hosted solutions are Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provided by service providers. Cloud computing services convert fixed cost to variable cost, as customers have to pay according to the services they utilize.
• Cloud revenue management solutions are available according to a customer’s demand, wherein they can start or stop any service at will. This provides flexibility to organizations to adjust to the dynamic environment.
• There has been an upward trend in the deployment of cloud-based solutions. The advantages of cloud deployment are reduced physical infrastructure, low maintenance cost, and 24×7 data accessibility from anytime, anywhere.
• Cloud-based solutions also support real-time visibility of data for employees, enabling organizations to communicate with different departments before, during, and after each appointment.

 On-Premises

• On-premises solutions are installed and hosted in an organization’s own IT infrastructure and are managed by their internal IT staff. On-premises deployment is a traditional way of implementing identity & access management solutions.
• Organizations, where user credentials are critical for business operations, usually follow this approach as the information is moderately safe from external attacks, since systems are held internally by the organization.
• As on-premises solutions typically involve procurement of dedicated hardware, software license, and annual support and maintenance fees, this mode of deployment is popular across large-sized enterprises.
• Security concerns associated with the confidential data of customers is also a crucial factor for on-premises deployment.
• However, on-premises deployment requires IT support teams for regular service and maintenance operations, who may find it difficult to regularly update the on-premises systems. 

How to choose the right IAM solution?

• Multi-factor Authentication - Leaked passwords have been one of the major reasons for most of the data breaches over the last few years. Multi-factor Authentication has the ability to enhance user identification, by decreasing the risk of data breaches.
• User Self-service - An ideal IAM solution helps users to safely reset their own passwords and unlock their accounts without relying on the help desk. It also helps users to update their attributes and manage group memberships.
• Reporting and Auditing - Since compliance is a priority for almost all organizations, an ideal IAM software should be able to maintain a consistent audit track. Progressive IAM solutions enable IT teams to track precise features within applications.
• 3rd Party vendor management - An ideal IAM software guarantees that the users gain the correct level of access granularity for third-party subcontractors.
• Applications Required - An ideal IAM software should be able to support or integrate into numerous applications. So, it becomes critical for businesses to assess all the apps used by the workforce.
• Single Sign-on - An IAM solution with Single Sign-On (SSO) helps in reducing password issues, enhances productivity, and decreases IT costs.

Some Noteworthy Use Cases

Use Case 1: Exterior SSO using AD passwords to access Office 365, Salesforce, and other third-party applications

Employees or customers who need to be able to use their Active Directory passwords to gain access to third-party applications, can do so through the Gluu Server. Since, the target application supports SAML or OpenID Connect, the SSO transaction can be organized from inside the Gluu Server GUI. If the target application supports something like WS-Federation, it is ideal to use ADFS as a WS-Federation-to-SAML proxy.

Use Case 2: Web based Single Sign-On towards an exclusive RDBMS based User Repository

In cases where, businesses store their user credentials in an exclusive user store, and it wants to validate against that database by leveraging a customized RDBMS connector in the SSO platform. It is critical to understand that RDBMS constantly needs some custom integration because every organization has a different schema.

Use Case 3: Employees need to impersonate customers

This can be addressed within the Gluu Server. However, it recommended to handle this within the user’s application. For example, the Gluu Server could validate the employee who is imitating the customer, and in the application, the user would notice that the person has a role and should have the ability to see / edit a customer’s environment.  

And, if the business actually allows a staff member validate as another person, it is suggested that they use safe credentials and apply a multi-step verification workflow.

What’s trending?

• Biometrics – IAM solutions will need to integrate biometrics capabilities such as fingerprints, retina scans, and facial recognition to recognize sanctioned users for networked systems.
• Blockchain - Blockchain technology integrated with IAM solution addresses the issues with keeping identification data in a central Moreover, the individual documentation data in such central systems is not managed by individuals. Instead, the data is possessed by the third-party services provider.
• Situation Based Identity and AI - Situation-based IAM solution associates data about a user that is applicable for the identity being validated. Also, AI based ML systems can understand an individual so well that all the information gathered about them, linked with multi-factor authentication, will safely recognize most people.
• Live Problem Warning and Response - AI and ML can prove to be valuable in anomaly detection. Businesses these days, want to be able to detect anomalies such as uncommon key strokes, changed source locations, and even the date or time, and then reacting by either alerting, blocking the attempt, or dropping additional controls or authentication stages in place.
• Individuality Reassurance - Businesses today require improved security solutions that encourage decision-based identity assurance. Identity assurance systems monitor risk notices and help administrations in tracking distrustful activities.
• Identity API Management - Identity API management facilitates linking of cloud applications and individuals to provide programmer grade access and review tracks to anyone trying to enter API gateways.
• Security Robotics – Rise in the use of robotics in identity and security management is another trend observed in the IAM industry. The security segment plans to leverage robotics to achieve vital tasks in enterprise settings, including in the setting of identity and access rights management.
• Privileged Access Management - Privileged account comprises valued business data and is continuously tracked by cyber attackers. Privileged Access Management is an essential part of IAM wherein privileged accounts are continuously checked and protected with severe verification techniques.
• IAM Migration to the Cloud - Another IAM trend is the movement of user identity data services to the cloud services, or identity management as a service. Identity management as a service is easily scalable. The service providers manage most of the management activities in the back end.
• Decentralized Identity - Blockchain permitted and dispersed identities are compelling IAM systems to enables users to produce, demonstrate, and record their identities and the associated relationship identifiers to use digital services.

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