Can Identity Services be Provided Via SaaS?
Published:
August 31 2009, 10:52 AM
by
Matthew Gardiner
There has been a tremendous amount of chatter and yes even some hype regarding the need and potential for providing identity and access management (IAM) related services to organizations via SaaS delivery. To me the hype here is getting quite out of control and is in great need of more realism, which I aim to provide here.
I have a lot more to say on this topic then I can possibly fit into a single blog. But, I am hardly the only person out there saying "hold on there a moment" regarding this topic. I recently read a great presentation given by Robert DeSisto of Gartner entitled "Software as a Service: Uncertainties Revealed" which had a lot of salient points. Also Ian Yip has some good blogs on the topic as well.
The summary of my position is that there is no magic when it comes to identity services. If you hear an argument that goes something like this - "Organizations have complex and expensive identity and access management processes that are expensive and difficult to resolve with on-premises IAM software. If they placed these processes into the hands of an identity SaaS provider, costs go way down, security is improved, and compliance is made easier" - be wary. This massively understates the issue.
Why is reality more complicated?
- There is a huge difference between IT applications and IT infrastructure. Narrowly focused applications that are delivered via Web front-ends are great candidates for SaaS delivery as integration back into the enterprise tends to be more manageable. But IT infrastructure or middleware services, such as IAM, are a very different story. Infrastructure by its very definition must be appropriately integrated into the enterprise premises and processes. Moving that infrastructure off-premise makes the integration problem harder, not easier.
- IT organizations will be hybrid, using a mix of on-and off-premise applications, for as far as the "eye can see". I blogged on the hybrid issue previously. This hybrid issue greatly affects the potential for identity services, as on-premise applications cannot have their IAM activities ignored in favor of identities in the cloud. Enterprises must be able to handle both effectively. In my opinion managing identities in SaaS-based applications via on-premise identity software is much easier than the converse.
- You can outsource services, but you cannot outsource compliance responsibilities. You think it is painful complying with audits with on-premise software, imagine doing the same thing with off-premise software.
- IAM deployments are complex because IT systems and processes in essentially all organizations are complex. Organizations cannot outsource their "spaghetti" and expect better results. In fact, I argue that IT services can't effectively be outsourced until they have been internally outsourced (abstracted) first. Identity services and IAM systems are a great example of this.
- Vendor viability is an even bigger issue with SaaS-provided services than it is with on-premise software. If a traditional software vendor goes belly-up, at least the software keeps running and the customer can make transition plans. When a SaaS provider goes under things could move much faster - as in here today -gone tomorrow.
- Trust - Security is largely about creating and enforcing trust. It you outsource your security systems and practices you must trust your SaaS provider as much or more than you trust your own organization.
I could continue with this list, but I will stop to clarify one thing: I am not saying that there is no aspect of identity management that can be outsourced or "Saas-ified." There is definitely an opportunity for certain aspects of IAM to be provided by third-parties such as identity proofing, identity provider for hire, real-time risk assessments, and others. And perhaps even broader IAM services can be provided to small organizations of maybe 500 to 1000 employees or less that already have a high percentage of applications provided via SaaS delivery. But a move to SaaS-based Identity Services certainly won't happen quickly with all the hurdles and issues that need resolved by a company offering to provide them.