How Microservices Can Improve Your IAM Strategy

Authors

Doug Simmons – Managing Director, Consulting / Principal Consulting Analyst

Nick Nikols – Managing Director, Research / Principal Consulting Analyst

Gary Rowe – CEO / Principal Consulting Analyst

Abstract

Identity Management is key to digital transformation and the next generation of enterprise IT. These foundational identity systems are rapidly evolving to support new business models, applications and ecosystems.  A key element of this change is a pervasive movement to microservice and DevOps—providing a more flexible, dynamic and timely means of providing identity services.

Microservices, as applied to identity management, breaks up monolithic Identity and Access Management (IAM) applications into smaller services and provides them to a variety of applications and other consumers as needed. Microservices enable an “abstraction layer” that can dramatically simplify application development, integration and operational support. In this model, IAM services and functions that are enabled in a secure, easy-to-consume manner. As new protocols, techniques and infrastructure approaches emerge (e.g., blockchain, distributed ledgers, verified claims), and old techniques fade away the impact on the IAM infrastructure will remain minimal. Doing so is the surest way to ‘future proof’ your IAM strategy.

This highly actionable report provides a context for approaching microservices as an increasingly important part of an enterprise identity management strategy. We also describe a few significant vendor offerings in this emerging, but rapidly developing category.