If you’re looking for an overview of key challenges and best practices in access and authorization management in complex IAM environments, you’ve come to the right place! This article does exactly that. You’ll find it emphasizes the need for process improvements, the role of the business, and how automation can enhance efficiency.

Happy to welcome you here, and happy reading!

It’s all about access

Access and Authorization management is one of the core components of your IAM strategy. Yet organizations sometimes struggle with managing access effectively, leading to inefficiencies, risks and vulnerabilities, and compliance challenges. So let’s look at what we can do to help change that. In this article, we will discuss four keys for effective access and authorization management and how to implement them to improve efficiency, security, and compliance in your organization.

Challenges in access and authorization management

Knowing how to change the struggle begins with knowing what’s causing the struggle. These are the four main challenges or obstacles we find often standing in the way of effective access control:

1. HR Job types vs. Role Management: HR Job Types (or functions) are not the same thing as roles. First of all, a job type does not tell us much about what a person actually does; their workload, tasks, mandates, and responsibilities. Roles do. And for effective access and authorization management, it’s all about what people do, and not about the official position and/or title. So, defining the right roles is essential.
2. “Every user is unique”: we find that sometimes, organizations prioritize the unique characteristics of employees and fail to apply uniform access standards. Roles should not be determined by the person, but by the work that needs to be done.
3. Complexity of multiple systems: operating numerous systems and departments with different rules and systems makes it difficult to manage access consistently and reliably.
4. Gap between IT and Business: access controls are often considered an IT responsibility, while the business plays a make-or-break role (and should have shared ownership at least) in determining who has access to which systems, applications, and data.

Best practices for effective access and authorization management

All right! Moving on. We now know where access control struggles often come from, meaning we’re ready to dive into some time-tested and proven methods for setting up effective Access and Authorization Management. These include:

1. Business involved and in co-control: developing the right roles is a team effort, involving active participation from various stakeholders across the organization. In an ideal scenario, the business (co-)owns defining access rules, while IT provides support by automating and streamlining processes.
2. Automating roles, starting with the Birthright ones: did you know that in efficient operations, around 60 – 80% of authorizations can be assigned automatically? These basic, foundational, ‘Birth Right’ access rights that every user and employee needs for doing their jobs, provides an amazing opportunity for taking a big automation leap. Setting up onboarding and offboarding through standardized processes helps minimize errors and reduces workload.
3. Standardizing roles: in the pursuit of ‘Least privilege’ many organizations create roles specifically targeted to strict task authorizations. But this may harm business processes. Creating broader roles can help improve efficiency, as long as proper governance is maintained.
4. Use specialized expertise: invest in building, hiring or outsourcing long-term IAM capability with a clear Target Operating Model (TOM). Follow a consistent, strategic approach and pay attention to reporting processes to keep your IAM aligned with business goals and reduce risks.

Optimize security, operational efficiency and compliance

Effective access and authorization management is foundational for compliance, optimizing security, and operational efficiency within your organization. Addressing common pitfalls and understanding what’s the real deal with role complexity, the perceived unique nature of employees, and the disconnect between IT and business, you can lay the groundwork for smoother and more secure access control. Embracing best practices such as business-led access governance, automating core processes, and streamlining role management sets you up for improving overall efficiency, tackling vulnerabilities and risks effectively, and enhancing compliance.

Further reading: Common IAM Traps & Pitfalls – and how to remedy or even prevent them

You don’t have to go it alone!

With an even better understanding of some key elements in effective authorization management on your side, you can take steps toward optimizing your IAM strategy. However, if you’re looking to accelerate this process, our Authorization Analytics service can provide you with a tailored, in-depth analysis to help identify areas that need improvement and actionable recommendations for setting up a more secure, efficient, and compliant IAM environment. Also and lastly, in the realm of further reading, take a look at André Koot’s paper on Identifying Stakeholders in Access Governance, and browse through an abundance of information available on the topic via IDPro’s Body of Knowledge.