Identity and access management (IAM) is the control plane for determining a root of trust for all digital identities. Effective IAM must validate identities, secure access, manage privileges, and be optimized for hardened security, good user experience, and operational efficiency across all user populations — your workforce, partners, customers, and machine identities. Effective and efficient IAM processes and technologies can also play a central role in a company’s digital transformation efforts, drive improved employee productivity and engagement, and provide a foundation for delivering trusted customer and partner relationships.

Forrester Research Can Guide Your IAM Transformation

In 2021, Forrester introduced its IAM Lifecycle Model consisting of a four-stage framework for creating a sound IAM strategy and effective operations. Security and risk (S&R) professionals can apply this framework to all human and nonhuman identities under your purview — your workforce, partners, customers, and machines. For each stage, the objective is to balance the trade-offs of a strong security posture with that of a frictionless user experience, while striving for operational efficiencies at scale.

Regardless of your firm’s current state of IAM, we have a range of research reports to direct you on the path to effective digital IAM transformation, covering the four stages of our framework, including:

  • Determining responsibility for all IAM functional areas, identifying and analyzing IAM risks, creating budgets, and building partnerships across the organization.
  • Assigning and managing user privileges and entitlements, providing user self-service, and applying adaptable policy and workflow while adhering to the principle of least privilege.
  • Authenticating user access, including for privileged users and nonhuman identities, with continuous monitoring to identify anomalous user activity.
  • Generating operational efficiencies through automation, configuration, process improvement, and well-aligned staffing and tracking ROI and total cost of ownership (TCO) to determine project success and budgetary adjustments.

A Look Ahead At Our 2022 IAM Research

This year, our planned research will build on 2021’s research momentum to help IAM teams become more efficient and effective in ways that improve security, reduce identity-related risks, and do not impair the employee or customer experience. Look for research from us on these topics, among others:

  • The Global State Of Digital Identity, 2021
  • The Future Of Identity And Access Management
  • The Top Trends Shaping Identity And Access Management In 2022
  • IAM Architect: Role Profile
  • Identity Orchestration Decision Tool
  • The Forrester Wave™: Customer IAM

Schedule an inquiry with myself or Andras Cser to discuss how to enable your organization to leverage all the benefits of IAM technologies.