So Immature

Clear Skye guest blogger Jackson Shaw discusses the realities of most IGA programs

I just read a global survey¹ of 1,005 IT security professionals regarding their experience and approaches to Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) and the results were eye-opening, to say the least. Frankly, I was shocked by how immature most organizations are. Some of the key findings listed include:

1. More than 90% of survey respondents still partially, or completely, rely on manual processes to submit, review and approve/deny access requests.
2. Nearly half have no automated way of certifying user access, including those with no processes at all.
3. Nearly one-third have no automation at all.

Also, it was interesting to read that identity lifecycle management (ILM) is still maturing with nearly 40% of respondents reporting that they had inconsistent ILM processes across their enterprise. Only a scant 11% said they were completely integrated across all systems and users. Yet, nearly three-quarters stated that they were investing in multiple identity disciplines.

My Take-Aways and Thoughts

I’m shocked by how many of my colleagues are still using manual (or no!) processes for IGA. The silver lining to this, however, is that it is easy to automate these manual processes by simply wrapping workflows around them. That’s exactly what ServiceNow enables and exactly why Clear Skye is based on the ServiceNow Platform. ServiceNow Workflow automates the multi‑step processes that occur between any combination of people and systems to help companies achieve better business outcomes. Clear Skye enables companies to make their IGA processes more effective and efficient with this end‑to‑end automation. It’s easy within Clear Skye and ServiceNow to import Excel tables and make identity data available across the ServiceNow Platform.

I’m shocked by how many of my colleagues are still using manual (or no!) processes for IGA.

Nearly 75% of the respondents stated they were looking to invest in multiple identity disciplines. I would suggest that those respondents should look at a product that their employees probably already have a lot of experience with: ServiceNow. With 3 million daily active users, 95K instances being managed, and over 20 billion transactions per month, there is a level of “familiarity” that cannot be underestimated. IT shops know ServiceNow; their staff is trained to operate and extend it; their employees use it day-to-day. As most companies use ServiceNow, little to no re-training is needed as a person moves from company to company. In other words, your Clear Skye learning curve is already lessened.

A Clear Path Forward

Waiting around for decisions, actions, and responses can be a bottleneck in any business. Manual processes or systems that don’t communicate make those bottlenecks worse. ServiceNow and Clear Skye’s approach to workflow removes bottlenecks and integrates processes and activities between people and systems. Interactions that involve forms, requests, approvals, and events can be simplified with automated workflows using a drag and drop interface that visualizes the entire sequence of activities in an easy to understand flowchart. Activities can include anything from generating records and notifying users of pending approvals to running timers, tasks, scripts, and more. You can create end‑to‑end automation of the previously manual or disconnected processes that drive your business.

There’s a better way to IGA™, a more mature way to IGA. Put Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) where it belongs — on the ServiceNow Platform with Clear Skye.

Jackson Shaw is a seasoned product management executive with over 25 years of experience in product management solutions, marketing, sales, and operations in the technology sector. He is also an advisor and frequent contributor to Clear Skye.

[1] State of IGA – Global Survey Results

Clear Skye believes that the future of IGA resides in the Now Platform. Watch our recent webinar to see how Clear Skye works.

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