{"id":1205,"date":"2012-05-23T08:34:21","date_gmt":"2012-05-23T16:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=1205"},"modified":"2012-11-08T09:41:47","modified_gmt":"2012-11-08T09:41:47","slug":"identity-management-as-a-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.identityblog.com\/?p=1205","title":{"rendered":"Identity Management As A Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago at the European Identity and Cloud Conference<\/a> I gave a keynote called Conflicting Visions of Cloud Identity<\/a>. It was the first time that I reported publicly on the work I've been doing over the last year on understanding what cloud computing means for identity – and vice versa.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The keynote led to many interesting exchanges with others at the conference. The conversations ranged from violent agreement to “animated dissidence” – and most important,\u00a0to the discussion of\u00a0many important\u00a0nuances.<\/p>\n

It became clear to me that\u00a0a lot\u00a0of us involved with information technology could really benefit from an open exchange about these issues. We have the chance to accelerate and align our understanding and to explore the complexities and opportunities.<\/p>\n

So today I'd like to take a first step in that direction and lay out a few high level ideas that I'll flesh out more concretely in upcoming posts.\u00a0 I hope these will goad\u00a0some of you\u00a0into elaborating, pushing back, and taking\u00a0our conversation in other completely different directions.<\/p>\n

Preparing for dramatic change<\/strong><\/p>\n

To me, the starting point for this conversation is that Identity Management and the way it is delivered will change dramatically over the next decade as organizations respond to new economic and social imperatives by adopting cloud technology.<\/p>\n

We all need to understand this change.<\/em><\/p>\n

Organizations will find they need new identity management capabilities to take full advantage of the cloud. They will also find that the most reliable and cost-effect way to obtain these capabilities is through Identity Management as a Service – i.e. using the cloud to master the cloud.<\/p>\n

We can therefore predict with certainty that almost all organizations will subscribe to identity services that are cheaper, broader in scope and more capable than the systems of today.<\/p>\n

Enterprises will use these services to manage authentication and authorization of internal employees, the supply chain, and customers (including individuals), leads and prospects. Governments will use them when interacting with other government agencies, enterprises and citizens.<\/p>\n

Identity Management As A Service will require that we move beyond<\/em> the models of identity management that have guided our thinking to date. A new service-based model will emerge combining more advanced capabilities with externalization of operations to achieve reduction in risk, effort and cost.<\/p>\n

Redefining Identity Management<\/strong><\/p>\n

The term \u201cIdentity Management\u201d will be redefined to include everything needed to provide and consume identity in our increasingly networked and federated world.\u00a0 This is so profound that it constitutes a “reset”.<\/p>\n

As a category,\u00a0Identity Management\u00a0will expand to encompass all aspects of identity:<\/p>\n