17 May 2010
Identity and access management (IAM) is high on the to-do list this year for nearly two thirds of companies in the UK, France and Germany, according to a recent poll of IT security decision-makers by Forrester Research.
Nearly 60 per cent cited improved security as the primary driver for adopting IAM, with the remaining two fifths roughly evenly split between improved service delivery, regulatory compliance, cost reductions, and governance.
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However, organisations feel that current implementation of even the most popular IAM technologies is distinctly underwhelming.
Single sign-on enjoys the highest level of adoption and interest among respondents. Sixty-five per cent say they either already have enterprise single sign-on (SSO) in place or have plans to implement it, compared with 60 per cent for web SSO.
At 29 per cent, privileged user management is, by a thin margin, the most widely adopted IAM technology at European enterprises. Provisioning has lower current adoption, at 21 per cent, but a further 30 per cent have plans to implement it over the next few years.
Only a fifth of organisations have adopted multi-factor authentication, with another quarter planning implementation.
Currently less than 10 per cent of respondents outsource IAM, but Forrester is talking up this route as a solution to European firms' adoption woes.
"Security and risk professionals struggling to implement IAM should take measures to understand the nascent hosted IAM marketplace, because in a few years' time IAM services will be viable alternatives to traditional products," said Andras Cser, Forrester security analyst and co-author of the report, Identity and access management adoption in Europe.
The research from Forrester once again serves as a stark reminder of the real-world financial and legal implications of lax data security in the workplace
Failure to clamp down on data security has real and painful consequences for any organisation, regardless of whether it is a public or private sector body. Data breaches cost jobs, create catastrophic bad press and can have a painful impact on the bottom line. Therefore, it is encouraging to see so many respondents highlighting the importance of improving security and meeting regulatory compliance requirements as key drivers to adopting Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions.
The importance of meeting regulatory requirements and demonstrating that all reasonable steps have been taken to protect sensitive data and control access has been heightened in recent months by the introduction of new powers for the Information Commissioner's Office to punish the most serious offenders.
The ICO can fine companies in the UK upwards of £500,000 for each instance of a data protection failing. The financial impact facing companies that fail to adequately protect data underlines the growing value of data as a business asset.
Posted by: Stuart Hodkinson, UK general manager, Courion 21 May 2010
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