An Introduction to Identity Management

Identity management refers to the process of employing emerging technologies to manage information about the identity of users and control access to company resources. The goal of identity management is to improve productivity and security while lowering costs associated with managing users and their identities, attributes, and credentials. The purpose of this document is to offer a broad overview of current identity management technologies and provide a framework for determining when an identity management system would benefit your company. This document first defines the underlying business problems and resulting business risks inherent in managing user identity information across a heterogeneous technology infrastructure. Next, this document highlights the unique challenges of implementing an identity management solution. This document introduces the functionality of an identity management solution and describes this functionality within the context of the identity management infrastructure. Next, this document highlights products from leading vendors. Finally, a basic framework is provided to help determine if an identity management solution would benefit your company.