Digital Identity

The Benefits of an Identity Management Architecture

An IMA provides a number of benefits to the business. One of the biggest is allowing the organization to focus on the positive aspects of digital identity in creating value. The traditional approach to security has focused on keeping the bad guys out, often at the expense of getting the job done. Identity management architectures focus on creating a digital identity infrastructure that gets employees, customers, partners, and suppliers to the resources they need.

At the same time, another important benefit is increased information security. This might seem like a contradiction, but I contend that by removing the crutch of perimeter defense and creating a comprehensive plan for managing identity and access control, security is improved. Security experts have preached for years that proper system implementation is a more reliable means of creating security than doing it as an afterthought. Identity management architectures are the road to that goal.

Increased security does not have to come at the cost of user convenience. In fact, the opposite is true. A properly implemented digital identity infrastructure allows information to flow more freely, while keeping it within the bounds set by the digital identity management policy. IMAs allow the organization to loosen the restrictions surrounding information management while gaining greater control of information access.

An IMA creates a plan that allows features such as single sign-on and ...