101-Identity Access Management (IAM)
Identity Access Management (IAM) is crucial for the security of your business information. It may seem like a complicated concept, but this guide to IAM will look at what it is, why it’s essential, and how it affects your business.
What is Identity Access Management (IAM)?
Identity Access Management is a set of rules and policies that defines users and devices within the business network. It manages the access and privileges of each user and device, ensuring the correct person has access to the resources they need. Using IAM allows the network manager to restrict access to essential information for employees, partners, contractors, etc.
The system manages access through login pages and protocols while ensuring that the user requesting access has the necessary clearance.
In a world where network parameters are not always reliable, IAM is crucial for ensuring security. This includes risk management, identity verification, personal identity, API security, self-service, and privacy management.
IAM manages who each user is and what permissions they have
Why is Identity Access Management Important?
IAM is crucial for any business that wants to protect its resources. There is massive pressure on companies to build effective systems for the flow of information internally. Every team member needs to be able to access their data in order to do their jobs. IAM automatically controls employees’ access to relevant information and on-premises corporate assets.
It’s also essential that only authorized people have access to sensitive business information. If the wrong people can access information, it can be detrimental for your business. Whether you have a small business or are part of a multinational corporation, the information on your network is equally sensitive.
Benefits of Identity Access Management
There are various benefits to using a quality IAM system.
Enhancing Security
The most important benefit of IAM is that of enhanced security. Reducing the use of passwords and increasing other aspects of security, like biometrics, reduces the risk of a security breach or a hack.
Remote work is becoming more and more popular, and that places extra pressure on IT to manage devices and users. Efficient protection against data breaches and cyber attacks is essential.
IAM helps protect against many kinds of threats. This gives you the confidence that access to your company’s information is limited to those who need it and are allowed to use it.
Improving User Experience
Combining security and access, IAM makes it easy for your employees to be connected and for your customers to keep coming back.
Options like single sign-in allow for quick and easy access, and combining this with adaptive authentication, you can match access requests with authentication requirements. IAM can reduce or even eliminate the need for passwords, which can streamline access.
Increasing Worker Productivity
Providing your employees with easier access to the data they require means their productivity can increase.
Your people need to access a range of applications, devices, and information to do their jobs effectively. IAM helps reduce the time it takes to log in and access everything they need, which in turn increases productivity.
Streamlining IT Workloads
IAM solutions can minimize the reliance on passwords, which takes away many calls to IT for forgotten passwords and helps them devote their time to more important matters.
Supporting Regulatory Compliance
IAM makes compliance with regulations much easier. Similarly, aspects like consent management capabilities allow for ease in complying with data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. IAM allows for quick adaptation to new regulations implemented.
What is the relationship between IAMs and online identity verification? What is the difference?
Both IAM and Identity Verification (IV) are needed to ensure that the correct people have access to information at the right time and for the right reasons.
While you’ll often see both terms used when talking about IAM, the two concepts aren’t the same.
- Identity verification management focuses on authenticating users and making sure that the person is who they say they are.
- Identity access management deals with authorizing users and allowing specific people to have access to specific pieces of data.
IAM goes hand-in-hand with identity verification. Why? Because the first step of controlling access to resources is verifying the identity of the person trying to gain access.
Traditionally, IAM used authentication methods to verify someone’s identity, such as passwords and digital certificates. With the constantly changing technological environment, a username and password is no longer effective in protecting your sensitive information. For this reason, more and more companies are relying on biometrics to cover these security deficiencies. The most advanced identity and access management systems rely on authentication based on biometric systems and include machine learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and risk-based authentication.
Together, IAM and identity verification ensure that the right people have access to the right platforms or systems. And they help companies not to take risks. And it is that, in an increasingly remote world, allowing the wrong user to access sensitive data without putting filters on it is very dangerous and can cause big problems.
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