1 Introduction / Executive Summary

Identity and access management (IAM) is a core component of the enterprise IT infrastructure and central to protecting digital corporate assets. By enabling enterprises to manage and govern identities and the assets they are authorized to access, IAM can ensure that the right entities — including people, applications/workloads, and devices — can access the right resources at the right time, while preventing unauthorized access, a leading cause of data breaches.

Protecting digital assets, the systems, and applications in an IT environment of growing complexity and of a hybrid nature while facing ever-increasing attacks involve several actions organizations must take. Protecting against internal and external attackers requires a well-thought-out understanding of risks and countermeasures. Among the core elements of every infrastructure, we find IAM. IAM done right ensures that identities, their user accounts and passwords, and their access entitlements are well-managed. IAM thus reduces the attack surface by helping organizations moving towards the “least privilege” principle. IAM provides the tools to automate processes around managing users and access entitlements, but also for regularly reviewing these and identifying, e.g., excessive entitlements.

IAM system integrators specialize in providing identity and access management integration services to companies. System integrators play a key role in unifying various aspects of the IT infrastructure of an organization. Integrators provide a seamless framework for all IAM technologies to operate and fulfil organization’s demands. There are various operations which can be fulfilled by these integrators. Some of the typical functions are assessment, analysis, consultation, design, customization, implementation, training, regulatory and quality assurance, maintenance and support, scalability, and project management. Integrators will assess the existing infrastructure and identify the gaps, opportunities, and requirements before beginning IAM transformation journey.

Most of the integrators in the market have a reference architecture and maturity matrix to help clients determine the required modules of IAM technology. Integrators use this information from assessment for architecture design and review the integration plan by involving key stakeholders. Various factors such as change management are also taken into consideration. System integrators are equipped to tackle specific requirements from customers to customize the architecture design. Customizations could be related to accommodating regulatory requirements before migration for certain applications.

The next major step is to implement the design and provide integration services to customer solutions. System integrators can connect and deploy IAM systems across various databases, application platforms, and operating systems. Integration to third party ITSM solutions and SIEM integrations can also be provided based on requirements. Most of the integration projects involves a team consisting of client employees. Integrators train the client-side employees with necessary operational and maintenance knowledge. In most cases, a dedicated team of IAM professionals from integrators is involved from start to finish phase of the project. Integrators with large workforce deploy a flexible approach to completing projects. The IAM professionals are rotated based on different phases, however certain consultants and developers remain constant.

Another aspect of IAM projects is the maintenance and ongoing support. Certain integrators have a dedicated Managed Services Support team to help clients with new application onboarding, troubleshooting, and rolling out updates. Organizations are looking for system integrators which can support in scaling the operations in the future. Integrators in the market right now can meet this demand by designing scalable solutions.

Most organizations operate in a hybrid environment with a combination of legacy systems and apps that coexist with cloud services. Enabling easy, consistent access to applications is business-critical no matter where those applications are hosted. A unified IAM platform can make your workforce more efficient and productive, with single sign-on (SSO) and other tools that work across on-prem and multi-cloud environments. For your customers, it can create frictionless, targeted experiences that lead to greater satisfaction and loyalty. Integrators can meet this requirement by providing integrations to legacy and SaaS solutions.

Organizations are under intense pressure to differentiate themselves by delivering new digital initiatives and innovative services without disruption. At the same time, they must protect their digital assets, systems, and data, while maintaining regulatory compliance, all in an increasingly complex IT environment amid a sophisticated threat landscape. System Integrators can provide advanced services around authentication for providing additional security. Most of the system integrators in the market can provide support for all major authentication methods. Auditing and forensic capabilities are also being supported by system integrators to provide security incident analysis.

An integrated IAM platform can help organizations modernize IT and achieve their goals for workforce productivity, customer satisfaction, stronger security, greater agility, and faster innovation.

Highlights

• The IAM system integrator market is very mature and has capabilities in supporting all major IAM technologies
• System integrators can provide strong capabilities for meeting regulatory requirements
• Assessment matrices provided by system integrators for understanding customers’ requirements are fine-grained
• Most of the vendors in this report have strong capabilities for advanced services such as updating authentication methods for passwordless and risk-based, and support for regulatory compliance., etc.
• Many vendors in this report have limited presence outside their founding country
• Innovation capabilities of vendors is limited due to the requirement of the maturity of services
• Most of the vendors have many professionals who are certified on vendor products
• Most vendors provide integration services for legacy on-premises as well as IDaaS and SaaS

1.1 Market Segment

IAM (Identity and Access Management) System Integrators are companies that provide support in consulting, implementing, and/or managing services or operations of IAM technologies for businesses. These services can range from planning and designing to implementing and operating various IAM technologies based on the customer’s requirements. The IAM technologies include a range of solutions including full IAM suites, CIAM, identity lifecycle management, identity proofing integrations, Fraud Reduction Intelligence Platforms (FRIP), access management, access governance, privileged access management, authentication services, and data governance, among others. An IAM system integrator is also responsible for ensuring security and efficiency when providing solutions to manage the complex IAM landscape of an organization.

IAM solutions have reached maturity but are limited in evolution by existing technologies. Organizations are seeking these solutions for protection against cyber threats and compliance with constantly evolving regulatory requirements such as GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, FISMA, etc. Furthermore, the experience and qualifications of the resources of an IAM system integrator are crucial for completing projects within the given time frame and budget.

In this Leadership Compass, the primary focus is on the vendors that specialize in providing system integration services for IAM technologies in Europe. Thus, this Leadership Compass analyzes the types of integration services offered by each participant, including, but not limited to:

• IAM technologies and products/services supported.
• Operating systems and cloud environments supported.
• Directory services supported.
• Types of integration provided.
• Types of customizations and development provided.
• Engagement methods
• Projects and contracts
• Auditing and reporting
• Resource management