Identity Management Metrics

A recent article in PC WORLD, identified ten important metrics that are critical to success if any IDM project. I would like to take a look at a few of these items and expound upon how Tools4ever can provide software and services to provide a clear and concise implementation that will lead to a quick ROI.

Monthly Password Reset Volume – The article points to this as an indicator of password policy effectiveness. Too few resets requests might mean users are using simple passwords or writing them down on sticky notes. Too many requests could indicate the complexity standards are very stringent and users are having difficulty remembering their passwords

Solution – Self Service Reset Password Manager (SSRPM) – allows companies to enforce complex passwords without inundating the help desk with user reset or unlock requests. The product can be deployed in an average organization in less than one day and the ROI is typically a few months.

Number of Credentials per User – A recent Tools4ever survey uncovered the average user has 10-12 separate, distinct sets of credentials and the article reiterated this fact. Once again, the large number of credential can lead to a large number of calls to the help desk and sticky notes with user name and passwords on the monitor.

Solution – Enterprise Single Sign On Manager (E-SSOM) from Tools4ever provides a cost efficient method to reduce he number of credentials to one – the AD username and password. This product is easily deployed by Tools4ever consultants in a few hours to a few days – depending on the number of applications. Two factor or strong authentication via biometrics or smart cards eliminated the normal security concerns with SSO implementations.

Average time to provision or de-provision a User - No one wants a new employee to sit idly for days waiting on network and email access. Even worse, a terminated employee should not have access to anything once they have left the building. Too often the information flow from HR to IT is slow or non-existent in both of these scenarios leading to a loss of productivity or a potential security breach.

Solution – User Management Resource Administrator (UMRA) allows companies to implement a closed loop process that encompasses creation, modification and deletion of user accounts. A common scenario is to synchronize Active Directory with the authoritative data source, typically the HR system, to insure the correct account status and security rights are always present. We forms are easily deployed to handle non-employees such as consultants, volunteers and contractors.

The article has many other great discussion topics and is a quick, informative read.

To learn more about Toosl4ever solutions for Identity and Password Management, please visit our website.