User Access Management (UAM), also known as identity and access management (IAM), is the administration of giving individual users within a system access to the tools they need at the right time. For businesses, this usually includes access to external applications, permissions, and security requirements.
Today, challenges can arise as companies grow, and employees with varying roles and responsibilities increasingly use external enterprise solutions to do their jobs. An identity and access management solution helps manage this by providing a seamless way to manage user identities and access all in one place.
What user access management allows you to do
User Access Management allows IT administrators to securely manage access to services and resources for all the users in an organisation. All this can be done simply within a Universal Directory.
With Okta’s Universal Directory, you can create and manage users and groups, and assign permissions based on user attributes using our cloud-based solution. Since Okta connects directly to the leading SaaS apps, your users will be able to access them directly through our Single Sign-On (SSO) solution. That means fewer password resets for IT and a more streamlined workflow for other departments.
You can also ensure compliance with your organisation’s security policies through UAM. Okta’s UAM can enforce company-wide and group-based password policies, with options for complexity. For an extra layer of security for mobile users, our Adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) solution makes it easy to give specific employees access to apps and on-prem systems, and require step-up authentication where needed. These features, along with SSO, will help your organisation reduce the risk of phishing and data breaches.
Finally, Okta integrates with leading HR software to ensure seamless synchronisation between user records and app access. This includes hands-off provisioning and deprovisioning triggered by the HR software or application and integration to Active Directory or LDAP. The resulting features include rich extended profiles, group push, and license or role assignment.
Setting up your user access management
Setting up Access Management in Okta is simple—you can be up and running in 30 minutes. When you sign up, you will get access to live and recorded training tutorials to help you with user setup, SSO management, provisioning, MFA implementation, and more.
Administrators have access to a single console for all of Okta’s products. Here, you can manage users and groups, what programs they have access to, and which applications you’ll run within Okta. Okta also connects to unlimited directories, so if you have an app that already has users, the system allows you to import those users easily.
Other features include sending messages directly to users, changing username formats, and even creating new apps to include in your company dashboard that don’t already exist within Okta’s database. You can do this with web apps, native apps, or even single-page apps. The reports section of the dashboard allows you to see usage in real time, including attempts for access that were blocked. That means you can rest assured that your bases are covered, your teammates can be efficient, and everyone has access to the tools they need.