Identity Management
Is your helpdesk overloaded with access requests and password resets?
Is your directory out of date or missing critical information?
Are you having trouble complying with regulatory requirements such as SOX and PCI?
Enterprises have a number of identity stores including directories, databases, and application repositories. Keeping identity information accurate across data stores can be a daunting and, oftentimes, impossible task. Regulatory and compliance rules require auditing and controls for user access and they also require timely deactivation or removal of user accounts. Some regulations may require regular attestation for user access which can be very expensive and time-consuming to complete. Password management may consume a large portion of helpdesk resources.
Consider an Identity Management Solution for Your Enterprise
An identity management platform such as Microsoft® Forefront® Identity Manager 2010 (FIM 2010) can simplify the identity management process by automating account management, access management, and password synchronization. Furthermore, many of the tasks that cannot be automated can be delegated outside of the IT organization by providing self-service combined with workflow capabilities for obtaining required approvals. Account provisioning for user accounts, email, and application access can be done by applying business rules to authoritative information provided by your HR system. The majority of security group and email distribution list membership requirements can be supported by creating criteria-based group memberships. Ad-hoc access requests can be supported by using self-service group management with approval workflows. Identity data located in multiple data stores can be aggregated and rationalized according to business rules and then synchronized to provide accurate and consistent data in each data store. FIM 2010 provides self-service password reset and password synchronization capabilities to reduce password-related workloads on the helpdesk.
Implement Identity Management Solutions with Confidence
Orcas Consulting’s project experience, technical expertise, and engagement methodology ensure successful delivery of our solutions. All Orcas engagements follow a straightforward engagement methodology that should be familiar to our enterprise customers. A typical Identity Management engagement would include the following phases and tasks:
Plan & Analyze – Your current identity data repositories are analyzed. Identity and access information is rationalized. Your goals and objectives are clearly defined. Project scope and technical approach are agreed. Roles and responsibilities are assigned. A schedule is developed.
Design – Functional requirements are agreed and documented. Business rules for identity and access are documented. Solution architecture is developed.
Build – Solution is built and validated in a pre-production environment. Configuration and operations documentation is created. Test cases are written.
Test – The solution is tested for functionality and performance. Configurations are adjusted to meet goals.
Deploy – Technology is released in your production environment. Deployment issues are resolved.
Stabilize – Operational guidelines and documentation are tweaked. Solution is turned over to customer.