Identity Management: An Evolving Landscape

Identity and access management (IAM) has traditionally focused on managing user information technology accounts in the enterprise. The rise of different types of accounts and identities such as cloud, mobile and other devices, e-commerce, and social networks has asymmetrically complicated things. Cloud, mobile, social, and personal networks have types of identities, platforms, services, and technologies not traditionally addressed by enterprise IAM. The result is fractured user authentication and authorization across applications and resources. There is not a single type of identity, identity token, or IAM that takes this into account. Identity management has very literally become identities management, and individuals and enterprises are struggling to keep up.