Identity and Access Management (IAM) brings greater efficiency

Identity and Access Management enables the right individuals to access the right resources at the right times and for the right reasons across a company’s IT infrastructure.

Why it is really new

This technology pulls together, for example, the IT security and Access Control credentials, by ensuring the appropriate access to resources across an increasingly assorted number of technology environments that also meet the increasingly rigorous compliance requirements.

What benefits it brings

Essentially, this is about access management allowing employers to link, for example, an employee’s access card (other credentials) and their computer terminal. An employer cannot log into their terminal unless they have used their credentials to enter the room. Likewise, once the “IT System” realises that the employee has left a room, then the terminal they were logged into will automatically log out (if not already done).

Identity and Access Management also introduces a much more efficient use of the credentials across an IT system where the creation, deletion or modification of a user’s identity can be administered centrally, influencing each component of a federated system. As an example, when a new employee joins a company, identity and access management will enable the administrator to add their credentials only once instead of on each individual system, bringing greater efficiency and accuracy.

Peter Ainsworth, Director, EMEA Marketing, Tyco Security Products