The problems and benefits of identity and access management

Identity and access management (IAM) is arguably the broadest issue in IT security. There are few other single concepts that impact as widely on so many areas as that of managing identity in an enterprise business context. From enabling employees to access the internal resources they need to fulfil business aims, through companies outsourcing functionality and hardware to consumers seeking to bank, trade or buy goods remotely, all are dependent on secure, reliable identity and access management.

In addition to enabling secure access to relevant resources of all kinds, well-structured identity management provides the lever to make huge efficiency savings that can grow exponentially over time. Badly-implemented projects, however, will not only soak up precious resources, but will merely automate existing problems, leading to a more costly cleanup exercise in the future. Such are the basic risks and benefits of IAM.