The evolution of a stricter regulatory environment, a greater need for internal
governance combined with the rise in identity theft, is pushing companies to
defend themselves by strengthening their systems via identity and access management (IAM) solutions.
The adoption of the IAM solution is only the initial step towards delivering identity
management that’s secure and seamless.
Just having identity and access management solutions installed is not sufficient. Leaders need to question: do the IAM solutions sufficiently deliver secure authentication at each level, and can they sufficiently deliver a seamless experience to customers?
Securing systems is only half the battle won
Customer security and experience are often viewed as mutually exclusive. Authentication methods and security questions can be considered as a necessary evil – customers don’t like them enough, but at least it keeps them and their business relatively safe.
However, a static IAM system does not guarantee safety or customer satisfaction. With the
latest technology-enabled approach to hacking, standardized authentication methods like
passwords, usernames, biometrics– are easily bypassed. Cybercriminals are adept at using
public social media profiles to discover all the information needed to crack a user account.
All too often, the customer is forced to skip through a series of authentication loops that are easily disobeyed by the criminals they’re designed to stop. Firms need a smarter approach to authentication, and one that’s much less intrusive for the customer experience.
Intelligent authentication system
Security needs to be innovative and smart, an intricately tied to the sensitivity of the resource the user wishes to access. Enterprises don’t need to burden the customer with multiple checks for logging into their account.. Enterprises should seek a rules-based but contextually sensitive IAM platform with the ability to recognize what the user is trying to achieve, and decide the appropriate level of authentication required.
However, to do this, the platform of choice should be dynamic in its use of contextual data.
Organizations accumulate immense quantities of data from customers, including biometrics, location, or preferences – and their safety is a huge responsibility. Yet they usually do the least to track or utilize it during the customer experience.
What’s important is that the system can assess multiple contexts and scenarios, and be able to scale up or down the level of security accordingly.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
A perfectly-implemented IAM platform will suit these needs the best. An organization can
attempt to build its individual solution, but it will be pretty time-consuming, costly, and also
take up precious developer resources. Furthermore, unless the team has specialist security
knowledge, enterprises are most likely to develop a platform that’s responsive and slick, but not secure.
Businesses are far better served to work with a skilled technology partner to design, plan, and implement a platform that’s tailored for specific customer needs. With an intelligent IAM platform, deployed, designed, and managed by a trusted technology partner, enterprises will deliver a user experience that’s secure and satisfying, on time and on budget.
