EmpowerID

EmpowerID, founded in 2005 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, delivers a unified Identity and Access Management (IAM) platform that combines user management, provisioning, access governance, privileged access management, web access management (WAM), single sign-on (SSO), and identity federation in a single product with features unlocked by separate licenses. Its core differentiator is a workflow-driven, highly configurable approach designed to reduce custom coding while enabling organizations to implement complex business processes consistently. The platform includes more than 750 ready-to-use workflows spanning provisioning, entitlement management, SaaS integration, access reconciliation, and federation, supporting rapid deployment for organizations that want commercial off-the-shelf customization.

Provisioning is strongest in Microsoft-centric environments, offering deep Active Directory support, mailbox provisioning, and integration with LDAP directories, while also providing connectors for non-LDAP systems such as NoSQL databases, SCIM-based provisioning, and identity management for Amazon AWS virtual machines. EmpowerID also addresses SharePoint governance by enabling site and group inventory, access request workflows, and user profile synchronization—capabilities intended to simplify administration of large SharePoint estates.

The product supports broad federation standards (SAML, OpenID, WS-Trust, WS-Federation, OAuth, OIDC) and includes a Security Token Service and OAuth 2.0 server. WAM uses Java and .NET agents and supports role- and attribute-based authorization, with externalized authorization via REST/JSON. Additional capabilities include adaptive authentication (e.g., FIDO U2F, OTP, device profiling), privileged access features (vaulting, session recording, service account rotation), metadirectory/synchronization, LDAP virtual directory, identity proofing integrations, and SaaS integrations (e.g., Google Apps, Office 365, Salesforce). Strengths center on breadth, configurability, and visual workflows; challenges include Windows-only deployment, limited out-of-the-box connectors, and constraints around scalability and risk analytics.

• EmpowerID was founded in 2005 and is based in Dublin, Ohio.
• The platform includes more than 750 ready-to-use workflows.
• Federation support includes SAML, OpenID, WS-Trust, WS-Federation, OAuth, and OIDC.
• A Security Token Service and an OAuth 2.0 server are included.
• Web Access Management uses agents on Java and .NET application servers.
• Provisioning supports Active Directory, mailbox provisioning, and other LDAP-compliant directories.
• SCIM-based provisioning is supported.
• The product is fully multi-tenant, and some installations support users in the tens of millions.
• Most deployments run on Windows Servers with IIS and SQL backends.
• EmpowerID directly provides implementation and system integration support for North American clients, while EU deployments leverage partners such as Avanade.

• “EmpowerID takes a unified approach to Identity and Access Management.”
• “Workflow is extremely useful for organizations that need to customize IAM functions but do not want to write and maintain lots of custom code.”
• “EmpowerID ships with more than 750 ready-to-use workflows with significant coverage from user provisioning, entitlement management, SaaS integration, access reconciliation, and identity federation.”
• “The workflow engine in EmpowerID allows an organization to implement virtually any business process in a consistent way without requiring a large number of resources.”
• “A huge benefit with the dashboard is that it has been designed for mobile compliance, meaning that the SSO dashboard will also work on mobile devices, effectively BYOD-enabling your organization.”
• “This is a feature that is normally implemented in a separate product to the provisioning and governance functionality, but with EmpowerID all solutions are available in one product, activated with separate licenses.”
• “Large SharePoint installations are notoriously difficult to manage in large organizations.”
• “The number of supported target platforms is somewhat limited, which could create issues in managing the legacy systems still prevalent in many financial institutions.”
• “This can be a downfall in some cases however, as there is the possibility to go down a route of customization that can be hard to come back from.”
• “Given that most organizations are seeking COTS applications with no-coding required customization, EmpowerID seems to be set at the right level…”