Identity and access management (IAM) has hit the headlines over the past three years as companies battle to get to grips with corporate governance regulations, security concerns, an increasingly mobile workforce and blurring boundaries making it difficult to determine who is inside or outside the business. You`d think IAM would be a no-brainer, but its complexity notwithstanding, it hasn`t been implemented fast or furiously. Brainstorm wonders what`s up with that?

IAM has a wide scope and has been around for a long time, so it`s not dead or even just resting. IAM is a journey that organisations travel. And, as they travel, they move in a spiral where adoption of or improvements to one of the key components (authentication, authorisation, auditing and administration) reveals the need to improve another. Compliance and privacy have been recent drivers of demand for certification, attestation and privilege management. Trust is fundamental to commerce and knowing who you`re dealing with is essential to trusted e-commerce. IAM is alive and evolving. Mike Small, principal consultant for IAM at CA Africa