5 Identity and Access Management (IAM) Tools to Improve Security

By Marianne Chrisos - Last Updated on January 6, 2020
Top Identity and Access Management IAM Tools to Improve Security

How adding identify access management tool can boost your security.

What is IAM and how can it make your business’s data more secure?

Businesses continue to focus on securing their data and informational assets. New tools continue to emerge to defend against new threats and support the innovative ways that organizations do business – from remote work options to flexible cloud storage solutions to BYOD (bring your own device) style technology solutions in the workforce. IAM, or identity and access management, is an enterprise resource solution for helping businesses maximize their data and information security while ensuring that employees have what they need to do their jobs.

What is IAM?

Many businesses struggle to enforce proper password protocol and training among users, leading to less secure data.

The real benefit of identify and access management is that it keeps unauthorized users from accessing sensitive data. IAM is a web service that securely protects your resources through only allowing certain users access. Some IAM options use multi-factor authentication for users to login and access data, adding easy additional layers of security.

Identify access management tools help to define what users have access to what files and information within a company, based on their role, department, etc. This can help keep data restricted to the appropriate users and make sure that the likelihood of data leaks is reduced.

James Martin told CSO Online that while IAM platforms were first designed to handle security issues brought on by a higher usage of mobile device users, “IAM systems provide administrators with the tools and technologies to change a user’s role, track user activities, create reports on those activities, and enforce policies on an ongoing basis. These systems are designed to provide a means of administering user access across an entire enterprise and to ensure compliance with corporate policies and government regulations.”

Is IAM right for your business?

IAM might a good choice of security software for your company. Companies who use IAM often have:

  • Multiple users with different data needs
  • Regulation or compliance issues to enforce
  • Many mobile users
  • Data in either local or cloud storage servers
  • Centralized IT resources

Identity and access management tools give businesses a way to organize their access for all kinds of data and information.

Finding the Best IAM Tools for your Organization

There are plenty of software companies that offer a robust and accessible IAM tools list. To help find the right one to meet your business needs, you’ll need to know what your compliance needs are and what your user restrictions will be. Some successful and well known IAM vendors include:

  • IBM Security
  • Centrify
  • Identity Automation
  • Okta
  • OneLogin

The best IAM vendors will help you identify your user needs, data challenges, any compliance issues, helping you set up initial access, as well as define any important reporting and analytics to be run.

Organizing data and securing user rights can help to secure your business. IAM tools work to conveniently manage mobile data issues, as well as create digital identifies for users and create safety protocols around all data. Identify and access management tools help to provide a solid foundation for data security at all businesses and industries. It can also effectively manage data access issues to help businesses stay compliant with external protocols, including government regulations.

Marianne Chrisos | Born in Salem, Massachusetts, growing up outside of Chicago, Illinois, and currently living near Dallas, Texas, Marianne is a content writer at a company near Dallas and contributing writer around the internet. She earned her master's degree in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University in Chicago and has worked in publishing, advertising, digital marketing, and content strategy.

Marianne Chrisos | Born in Salem, Massachusetts, growing up outside of Chicago, Illinois, and currently living near Dallas, Texas, Marianne is a content writer at a c...

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