Which Tool Is Used for Identity Governance and Administration?

Would it surprise you to learn that the average company has over 100 different SaaS applications in its tech stack? What about the fact that many organizations only actually use around half of those applications in their day-to-day work?

This poses at least three compelling issues, particularly for IT leaders:

1. First, there’s the cost issue. Since SaaS applications for business are rarely, if ever, free, each app’s ROI must be considered.

2. There are also security concerns. Each application—and each account within that application—can potentially pose a cybersecurity risk.

3. Finally, there is the phenomenon of app fatigue. It’s the feeling of simply having Too. Many. Apps. Having dozens of disparate tools can be overwhelming and exhausting—not to mention inefficient and rife with both cost and security concerns.

This all sets the foundation for discussing identity governance and administration—the managing of specific user identities, accounts, and access controls—and how leveraging identity governance and administration tools can make an impact.

In Simple Terms, What Is Identity Governance and Administration?

Identity governance and administration (IGA) is the technical term for “making sure the right people can access systems and resources and making sure the wrong people cannot.” As noted in this article’s introduction, IGA is both a cybersecurity and cost concern—intended to help businesses streamline operations without sacrificing functionality or security.

Are Identity Access Management and Identity Governance and Administration the Same Thing?

While they are closely related, identity access management (IAM) and identity governance and administration (IGA) are not exactly the same thing—though they are very closely related. In addition to the identity governance definition provided above, the easiest way to distinguish between identity governance vs identity management is by considering each area’s scope and priorities.

• Generally speaking, IAM has more of a user focus than IGA. It focuses on the management, authentication, and authorization of digital identities and access controls. It can also include optimizing users’ on- and offboarding workflows, in some cases leveraging automation.

• If IAM “sets the rules” for account management, then IGA is related the implementation and management over those controls. As such, IGA occupies a sort of oversight role—quite literally “governing” which users get access, as well as their privilege levels, access rights, and so on.

What Is an Identity Governance Solution?

An identity governance solution is a type of software that enables administrators to monitor, manage, and optimize app subscriptions and user permissions. Rarely—if ever—would identity governance and administration solutions be considered ”one size fits all.” Instead, they are highly customizable platforms that can be configured for a wide range of use cases, depending on the organization’s objectives.

Additional functions specific to identity governance and administration—and made possible with well-selected and properly-configured IGA tools—include:

• Setting up user accounts, passwords, and permissions.
• Implementing security features (e.g., single sign-on, two-factor authentication).
• Streamlining the workflows around onboarding and offboarding accounts.
• Managing user permission levels for key applications and systems, including privileged access management.
• Improving their reporting and analytics capabilities to ensure legal and regulatory compliance.
• Creating centralized policies and laying the groundwork for growth and scale initiatives.

What Does an IGA Tool Do?

In addition to considering an IGA solution’s features list, focusing on the impact of these tools is a better description of what they can do. Successful implementation of an IGA solution comes with a number of benefits, like:

• Improved transparency around user access and permissions, on a per-user and/or per-app basis.

• Actionable insights business leaders can use to enhance and streamline their IGA and access control workflows.

• Risk mitigation and an improved ability to efficiently and accurately prepare for audits and maintain compliance.

One of the biggest impacts of an IGA solution is that the functions above don’t have to be performed manually, which would take an untold amount of time (while being susceptible to human error). They can be streamlined and, in many cases, automated if you’re using the right tools for the job.

An IGA platform like Lumos creates IT heroes by equipping them with the resources they need to streamline their processes and get the most out of the apps they rely on. This includes creating self-service features and automated workflows for requesting app access or increased permissions, for example—a shift that greatly reduces the time (and cost) of onboarding a new employee or updating an existing employee’s access.

To learn more about the specific results of working with Lumos for identity governance and administration, we recommend reading some of our customer stories. In them, you can learn how…

• Checkr was able to automate 20% of their IT tickets, slashing a whopping $230,000 in SaaS costs and 90 days worth of implementation work.

• Code42 automated their IT tickets, which reduced privileged access by 67% and helped them achieve an average time to resolution (TTR) of around 4 minutes.

• Chegg automated around a quarter of their IT tickets and built a scalable self-service system that not only reduced their TTR by an incredible 99.6% but also provided tangible value (ROI) within the first 30 days.

Find Out What Lumos Could Do for You

This article merely scratches the surface of what a well-selected and well-implemented IGA solution can do for an organization. Whether your primary objective is to increase security, reduce costs, or provide a more streamlined experience, these all fall under the IGA umbrella. And they can all be found within the Lumos platform.

To help you learn more about the ins and outs of IGA, our website contains plenty of valuable resources, including informative IT insights and content, as well as an online calculator you can use to get an idea of the potential impact Lumos could have for your business. When you’re ready, go ahead and book a demo!