Identity Management – 3 key implementation values for management boards and large organisations

The Identity Access Management (IAM) systems bring numerous benefits to employees, department heads, system administrators and HR divisions. But they also help management boards in effective operation, which is often forgotten.

The implementation of the IAM solutions provides secure access to local and cloud-based applications and key enterprise resources. When making use of such systems, in-house and external workers as well as contractors can access the company data securely from any location and via many different devices. It facilitates the work flow and gives control over access to sensitive information, preventing security breaches and incidents. It also helps in higher-level management of the enterprise, ensuring agile operations, process control and compliance with regulations.

1. Business agility

To operate effectively and boost its competitive edge, any organisation must be agile. What does it mean exactly? It means adjustment to external and internal changes quickly, smoothly and without committing large human and technological resources.

As simple as that, but in reality it is not so easy at all, especially for large organisations. Let us take the example of the employee recruitment process. When a new person gets on board, many different departments get involved, including HR and IT. The employment process entails the necessity of providing the new team member with working tools, an e-mail address, training, access to data and systems which are essential parts of the job.

If supporting technologies are missing, this whole process may take even up to several days, while the new employee is wasting time and the employer is wasting money.

Such problems are brushed away thanks to the IAM solutions which assist in the hiring process from the moment an employee is registered in the HR system. They support granting access to relevant business resources and applications and they automate the process of training assignment and verification of participation.

They coordinate the collection of all necessary permissions, authorizations and confirmations for the purpose of accessing various sources. Last but not least, they provide quick and automated distribution of login credentials for systems, e-mail services and documents.

As a result, they enhance the hiring process and make the company more agile in this area.
They bring analogous benefits with respect to procuring the services of new contractors or external workers. The time needed to start any such collaboration is significantly shorter when a company can use an IAM solution.

2. Segregation of duties, i.e. control over processes

Segregation of duties (SoD) is a concept which implies that a business process or task needs more than one person to be completed. When granting new privileges to an employee, e.g. due to a promotion, one can overlook the fact that such a person gets access which is excessive and out of proportion, thereby posing a potential threat to the company’s finances. That is why one should perform detailed reviews and simulations to check whether new privileges will make it possible for the given person to carry out such actions in the system that must be segregated and divided among two or more people in view of the enterprise security or legal requirements.

The IAM solutions prevent such granting of excessive privileges to a single employee. In consequence, they reduce the number of potential errors: when more people take part in a process, the control becomes more effective and it is easier to detect any irregularities on time. In addition, such solutions protect the enterprise against double-dealing and fraudulent practices by employees and against sensitive information leaks.

3. Compliance with regulations

Every entrepreneur operates within a specific legal environment that requires definite actions. A failure to perform such actions may lead to severe financial consequences. What are the legal regulations that companies have to follow with respect to personal data protection? First of all, the General Data Protection Regulation and the Act on the National Cybersecurity System. Pursuant to these laws, data controllers are under the obligation to report breaches, while key service operators and providers have to ensure the adequate level of protection against incidents as well as manage, predict and report such incidents.

The IAM systems enable continuous monitoring and control of access to resources and applications and they generate alarms if any abuses are detected. As a result, a company can quickly identify and solve any problems as well as detect when and who had access to what data.

Moreover, the digital identity management solutions ensure compliance with the company’s internal regulations such as procedures, standards and security policies. They define who can have access to IT resources and on what principles. The implementation of the IAM systems facilitates the adherence to such guidelines.

At the time of a growing demand for access credentials to sensitive data and the increase in the cases of identity theft, it become crucial to provide adequate safeguards for the process of granting access to corporate systems and applications. All the more so, as it brings other business benefits and helps to manage the enterprise more efficiently.

More about IAM systems:

The IAM systems. Agile business that is secure, employee-friendly and in line with regulations

Remote work which is secure and effective. What tools to choose

Secure assess to company data. How to facilitate remote work, protect resources and support IT departments

Digital Identity Management. Where to start?