
Strategic alignment and access governance
In today’s digital age, for an organization to succeed, it must have a strong IT function. That IT function will not be at its best, however, if it is missing a close partnership with the business components of the organization. In many organizations IAM is seen as an IT responsibility. While some of the IAM related tasks and activities can be considered IT-related, others are not. Without clear understanding of the different tasks and responsibiities in the field of IAM, the success of IAM related programs will be limited.
This article argues for the need for explicit strategic alignment, also referred to as business-to-IT alignment, between IT efforts around IAM, particularly access management, and the business needs of an organization. Lack of this type of alignment leads to failed IAM projects and blocked business maturity growth.
André Koot is principal consultant and co-founder of SonicBee. He is convinced that IAM projects can only succeed with a strong business-to-IT alignment. He based this on his years of experience as a top expert IAM strategist. Of course, André is not alone in this view, most experts have the same opinion. And yet, almost every IAM program starts as an ICT program. Therefore, it may seem like a simple insight, though it is at the heart of deploying access governance structural effectively. While business and IT alignment is always important to leverage ICT capabilities, IAM is completely intertwined in all kinds of business processes and authorization management touches both completely. SonicBee approach is to create awareness and get the support from business owners. This article provides more insights on these connections and the need for proper alignment.