Is your Identity and Access Management project doomed to failure?

These are the most common mistakes which are not Technology related. These mistakes can be controlled.

  • Failure to Plan
  • Failure to communicate
  • Failure to prioritize
  • Failure to align with enterprise/business needs
  • Changing the scope on whim or new priorities
  • Analysis paralysis
  • Not recognize success
  • Not listening to vendor/integrator’s advice
  • Misunderstanding the vendor landscape/ Magic Quadrant
  • Assuming “one size fits all” mentality

Many IAM projects are not successful

Organizations are aware of the importance of IAM projects, and so more implementations of IAM are being done. Many IAM projects are costing more than they should, and are getting delayed. These conditions yield less return of investments. The reasons for these problems are far less frequently due to technology, and far more often due to lack of a centralized monitoring system, having multiple identity stores, short cut methods used in implementation, lack of understanding IAM technologies, lack of experience implementing IAM with existing infrastructure, lack of knowledge of IAM policies, and failure to know and follow standards and best practices.

Companies should start an IAM project with an understanding of the current state of their organization’s processes, policies, and business environment. Ensure your IAM project team includes people who are well versed in different IAM technologies. Lastly, having a good, logical, documented approach at every step of implementation.

IAM non Governance

Build » Run is the process most organizations follow. Doing the same thing again and again. This is a process without proper planning and prioritization of goals. There is a greatly reduced chance of achieving your goals in this process.

IAM non govern process

IAM Governance Process

IAM in a Process-oriented Activity Cycle

The plan » build » run process cycle will always improve the outcome. This cycle includes considerations for the solution in light of your company’s future goals. This is ideal behind governance and continuous improvement. This is the process that many organizations must follow, but too many won’t.

Activity cycle

IAM in process oriented activity cycle - Govern process

 

IAM initial decision Framework

Decision Framework

The framework helps in planning the structure of an IAM initiative. It is not an actual project plan, but helps an organization to have a correct approach to IAM. The identify state is used to gather the resources that are required for the IAM intiative. The prioritize stage is to assign the requirements and the goals according to the business and to create an initial plan. The organize stage is used to gather all the resources for implementation for the plan that was created in stage two.

Find out more - meet us at IBM PULSE 2011.

PULSE 2011To find out more on how to succeed with your IAM project, please meet us at IBM Pulse 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday, March 1 from 1:00 p.m. to 1:25 p.m. intiGrow’s Managing Director Sid Roy will present a session entitled "N-2056: Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Identity and Access Management." This will be held in the Expo Theater. Mr. Roy brings more than 16 years of diverse experience in architecture, security, application development, and project delivery. In his last engagement at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield as Enterprise Architect and Project Director, Sid created a five-year security technology roadmap and successfully led and the implementation of several enterprise security solutions, including a robust Federated Identity and Access Management solution, which is among the largest IAM implementations in the US.

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