|  | | Identity and Access Management: Solution | | | In most organisations, over 45% of help desk calls are for password resets, and over 1000 IT head hours a year are taken up managing access privileges*. With Microsoft Core Infrastructure solutions, you can establish an identity foundation upon which all network systems can be centrally managed. | | | Download our summary on Identity and Access Management. | | | *Source: META Group research conducted on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers, June 2002, MSFT Internal | |
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Identity and access management has become more complex as digital identities take on an increasingly central role within organisations. Regardless of the size of the network, businesses rarely store their identity information in one place. Multiple departments, locations and software result in a proliferation of database, directory service, and application-specific identity stores.
Developing a consistent and effective identity and access management strategy requires:
- A sound understanding of the approaches and technologies you can use to address multiple digital identities
- Both short term and strategic approaches to identity control.
Challenges IT professionals face to provide secure and consistent access include:
- Automating Provisioning and De-provisioning
Organisations want new employees and contractors to be productive as soon as possible. They cannot afford to have staff spend hours, days, or even weeks waiting to obtain access to applications.
- Enhancing Security
Security is not only a matter of whom or what you keep out; it is also about whom or what you choose to let in, and what level of access they are granted. Employees, contractors, customers, and business partners have varied needs for access to data and applications. When employees change job roles, or leave, you need to be able to centrally and immediately have changes take affect across all systems and applications. It is crucial for your organisation to define and implement an access management policy that allows only specifically authorised users to access sensitive information.
- Improving Access
Organisations with limited identity and access management solutions experience a large number of authentication prompts during their workday and prolonged logon times. IT staff must manage a large number of user identity stores and do not have a consistent process for gaining access to resources. Often, there is no ability to assign resources to specific users and there is no centralized policy control for access and identity management. As a result, implementing broad policy changes requires every individual identity to be modified. Giving business partners secure access to the organisation's network is also remains complex and difficult.
- Centralising management of user identities
Because user identities are decentralized and unmanaged, changes-whether for new hires, existing staff members or departures-are maintained manually and can be costly. With a heavy focus on process in many regulatory compliancy requirements, there is a strong need for improvement in this capability. Often, customers experience a number of authentication prompts during their workday and because there is a lack of user provisioning services, users still require help desk assistance for resource access.
- Ensuring Regulatory Compliance
Identity has quickly become a focal point of many governmental and regulatory policies. This emphasis is a result of the growing focus on privacy, as more personal information is stored on information systems. Controlling access to customer and employee information is not just good business practice; an organisation that fails in this area is open to significant financial and legal liability.
- Accommodating Mergers and Acquisitions
Integrating the identity and access management systems of an organisation that has merged or acquired another organisation presents unique challenges and opportunities. To maximize the value of the new organisation, IT must use common standards to combine the data and information of the newly joined organisations and make it available to employees as soon as possible.
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| |  | |  |  |  | Register for a Microsoft Infrastructure Partner event to gain first hand knowledge. | | | | Microsoft Server Client Access Licenses promotion for midsize businesses - a cost-effective way to purchase Windows Server 2003 R2 and Exchange Server 2003 CALs | | | | Order complimentary Systems Management Server SMS 2003 R2 trial software | | |
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|  |  | | Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Flash Demo-Manageability Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Manageability. | | | | Identity & Access Management Webcast & virtual lab series Identity & Access Management Webcast & virtual lab series. | | | | Case Study: Siemens Manages 417,000 Users with Windows Server System, Saves Millions of Dollars Annually Siemens Saves Millions with Windows Server System. | | |
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