Digital identity management provides a secure, centralized platform for managing user identities. This allows users to log in to critical applications regardless of location, time, and device.
An IAM solution reduces IT support costs and helps businesses adhere to regulatory protocols. Learn more about the benefits of IAM systems below:
Security
The number of digital assets that organizations need to protect is growing and evolving at a rapid rate. Keeping track of all the people and devices who need to access those assets is now more feasible manually. It is a mission only with a strong identity management system in place.
Identity management consists of two components: authentication and authorization.
Authentication checks that a user’s login information matches what is stored in the database. This information includes username and password, security questions, work history, job titles, managers, direct reports, and more. This information is updated as employees leave or join, roles and projects change, and the organization’s scope changes.
Once the IAM system verifies a user’s identity, it grants access to the systems and applications that are approved for them. Those permissions are usually based on an individual’s job title, tenure, and security clearance, and the IAM system ensures that those privileges are always granted correctly.
A good IAM solution should be flexible and incorporate multiple methods of verification. It should also use technology such as artificial intelligence to reduce manual administrative workload and detect anomalous behaviors. These technologies help to minimize the risk of unauthorized access to business-critical data, improve overall network security and meet regulatory compliance standards like GDPR and CCPA.
Compliance
The need to control access to customer and employee information is a business imperative. The identity management system provides the means to fulfill government data regulations such as CCPA, HIPAA, and GDPR by providing the necessary control to ensure privacy and security standards are met.
The best IAM tools allow IT departments to provision users with the correct access to applications, resources, or devices using policies. This is done based on roles defined in consultation with the department managers. This is a much more efficient way to manage the complexities of user accounts than relying on manual processes such as sending emails, reassigning help desk tickets, etc.
Providing employees and end-users with a single identity that provides access to various internal and external systems, including mobile apps and cloud-based platforms, is an important part of IAM. IAM also helps to eliminate password issues that cause frustration for people and reduce the risk of security breaches by providing secure authentication techniques like hardware-based (FIDO2) and password-less authentication.
A centralized IAM system enables companies to implement consistent data access controls, whether on-premise, cloud, or mobile, across the organization. This translates to better collaboration, elevated insights, and greater business agility. In addition, IAM automation features help speed up and simplify processes while reducing the risk of human error.
Business Processes
As more businesses allow employees to work remotely, it’s critical to have an identity management system capable of verifying digital identities and managing access across any device. With this type of solution in place, businesses can provide employees with the tools they need to be productive while protecting sensitive data.
An IAM solution can help businesses meet security standards like Know Your Customer, transaction monitoring for Suspicious Activity Reporting and more. Automating many tasks can also reduce the time spent on password resets and help desk requests. This allows system admins to focus on more important matters.
IAM solutions are designed to eliminate manual processes prone to errors and can lead to unnecessary risk. For example, if an employee’s name or job title changes, the IAM system can automatically update the correct information in a database that controls unified access policies, often with single sign-on and multifactor authentication enablement.
An IAM solution can help a business improve productivity by reducing the number of password resets and help desk requests. This allows the organization to save money and resources while maintaining high security. The system can detect suspicious activity that might indicate a hacker is at play and prevent them from getting in with advanced analytics.
Automation
Managing identities manually can be labor-intensive and time-consuming. An IAM solution automates password management, unified access policies, and strong authentication enablement. This helps reduce manual workload and saves employees time to focus on other important tasks.
Keeping track of usernames and passwords becomes difficult for employees with multiple accounts for different systems and resources. With IAM, you can provide employees with one digital identity for all internal and external apps and systems. This eliminates the need to remember dozens of passwords and helps reduce the risk of security breaches by implementing best practices like strong authentication.
IAM solutions also help you meet compliance standards for Know Your Customer, transaction monitoring, and Suspicious Activity Reporting. Data protection regulations in Europe and the United States require strict standards for securely handling personal information. An IAM system ensures that your employee, partner, and customer information stays secure and provides the reporting capabilities you need to meet these regulatory requirements.
In addition to employee benefits, IAM solutions also improve the user experience for customers and partners. They can use a single login to all systems that they need to access with unified access policies. This reduces the number of passwords they need to remember and makes working remotely or on their devices easier. It also gives them a more convenient way to use your services and helps you build brand trust.
