Overview#

IDM The Application Developers Dilemma

When creating an application, whether it is for internal if authentication or compliance is required then the developer has some difficult issues to deal with:

• How do I deal with authentication?
• Where do I get the user’s Digital Identity information from?
• What Digital Identity information do I need based on the problems I have to solve?
• How do I make sure Digital Identity information is correct?
• Where do I store the Digital Identity information?
• How do I protect the Digital Identity information?
• How do can we auditing and show compliance for the Application?

Not the Primary Objective#

These are difficult questions and are not the primary objective of the application team, usually these are the least of the application teams concern.

Usually the application team will use what the method that they are most comfortable with to and own identity infrastructure. Database developers create user tables, login screens and processes, permission and authorization modules, account registration procedures, and profile management tools.

And they do it again and again. #

The outcome is what is common in almost every organization that we look at today.

Many, many Data Stores with identity and privacy information spread all over the organizational Entity.

A large insurance company admitted they found more than 400 applications that contained Digital Identity and Private data information. This presents the following issues for organizations to deal with:

• No methodology for consistent, centralized enforcement of enterprise-wide policies
• Users with passwords in many different Data Stores each with:
  • Different passwords
  • No common method to synchronize passwords
  • Multiple Password Policy enforcement
  • Multiple Data Stores that require updates (all via different methodologies) on termination or other user profile changes
• The list goes on and on.

Easy Sell#

Needless to say Identity Management should be an easy sell to any developer team.

More Information#

There might be more information for this subject on one of the following:

• Why IDM Makes Sense For Eveyone