Identity & Access Management (IAM) is involved in the identification, implementation, administration and termination of identities with access to information systems, buildings and data within an organization. Identities, for example, are company employees, system users, business partners and technical objects such as network printers and technical users. With these methods, all phases of the IAM lifecycle will be processed into an integrated system. The phases in this process include:

• Registration of the identities (queries, tests, structure)
• Authentication (access control)
• Authorization (eligibility control, provisioning)
• Administration, Audit
• Scheduling
• Archiving

Goals of a comprehensive IAM strategy are:

• Administration of all of an identity’s personal data which will enable a company-wide, central directory.
• Allocation of identities to organizational and data units; users work with particular rights in specialist departments in order to perform their work in their area of responsibility.
• Security of company data through risk management regarding the identities and the authorizations to access information and other company data.
• Automated control and administrative processes for IAM so that activities in IAM will be more transparent, traceable, more effective, more secure and simpler.
• Complete lifecycle management for identities — from the first installation/hiring to cancellation/archiving/separation.

With all good technical architecture, process solutions, and the integration of administrative processes in the security management of a company, the incorporation of all parties concerned is one of the essential success criteria of every IAM project. Thus, early transparent communication and transfer of data with a corresponding integration of responsible people at all organizational levels are essential activities which professionally and responsibly must be carried out within the scope of a change management system solution.

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