Cloud-Based Identity Management Increases Organizational Agility

As a consumer, you’ve probably noticed an increase in the number of websites using social authentication as a form of cloud-based identity management — for example, asking you to log in to a business with your Google credentials. Social authentication, single sign-on (SSO) and Identity as a Service are becoming preferred strategies for identity and access management (IAM), especially as organizations seek a better user experience, more robust security and easier management.

Users like cloud identity because it’s fast and easy: There are fewer logins and passwords to remember, plus the ability to log in from anywhere. From a business perspective, cloud identity builds agility and resilience. As we saw during the pandemic, organizations with cloud-based IAM adapted to remote work more quickly because they could enable employees’ secure access from anywhere.

Cloud identity management simplifies access to internal and external applications for an organization by providing a central platform for managing and controlling user access. With a cloud-based identity management system, organizations can easily and securely authenticate users and grant them access to the applications and resources they need, without having to manage separate authentication processes for each individual application. This can save time and reduce the potential for errors, as well as provide a more consistent user experience. 

In addition, a cloud-based identity management system can help organizations ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive resources and can provide robust auditing and reporting capabilities to help organizations track and monitor user access, improve their security posture, and control access to internal and external applications.

Cloud identity management can deliver cost and operational advantages to organizations in several ways. First, by providing a central platform for managing and controlling user access to applications and resources, a cloud-based identity management system can help organizations reduce the need for multiple, separate authentication systems, which can be complex and expensive to maintain. This can result in cost savings through reduced IT overhead and reduced duplication of effort. In addition, a cloud-based identity management system can help organizations reduce the need for on-premises infrastructure such as servers and storage, which can also result in cost savings. 

Another way that cloud identity management can deliver operational advantages is by providing a more consistent user experience and enabling users to access the applications and resources they need more easily and efficiently. This can help organizations improve productivity and reduce the amount of time and effort spent on managing user access. Additionally, a cloud-based identity management system can provide robust security and compliance capabilities, which can help organizations reduce the risk of data breaches and ensure they are compliant with relevant regulations and standards. Overall, implementing a cloud-based identity management system can help organizations improve the efficiency, security and compliance of their operations, leading to cost and operational advantages.

In terms of IT resources, cloud identity is a lighter lift than on-premises solutions. Maintaining a data collection platform requires ongoing management and upkeep. But when organizations can outsource that work to a cloud identity platform or Identity as a Service provider, they don’t have to worry about the infrastructure or maintenance. They can also rest assured that security and features will always be up to date.  

A cloud-based identity management system can provide robust security features and capabilities that help organizations protect against data breaches and other security threats. For example, a cloud-based identity management system can offer multifactor authentication, which can help ensure that only authorized users are able to access sensitive resources. It can also provide strong encryption of user data and other sensitive information, as well as auditing and reporting capabilities that can help organizations track and monitor user access to ensure compliance with security policies. Overall, implementing a cloud-based identity management system can help organizations improve the security of their systems and protect against threats. 

Finally, as security risks have multiplied and remote work has increased, identity-based authentication has become crucial. Among other things, it makes it much easier for organizations to enforce best practices for security, such as multifactor authentication and role-based access controls. Shifting these strategies to the cloud can be a rewarding complement to digital transformation, ensuring that internal and external users have the proper access at the right time — with effective security in place.

Story by Asif Syed