Business Impact of Identity Management In Information Technology

This paper explains the importance of data security through identity management. Businesses must do everything practical to protect their data and IT systems from malicious parties. Hackers have many tools and methods at their disposal, such as phishing, to steal identity data and compromise IT systems for malicious purposes. Even failures by an organization's own IT department to protect against malicious use from its own employees have resulted in significant financial losses. These losses could have been prevented had adequate identity management steps been taken. Usage of technologies such as a centralized Identity Management System, Directory Services, or Federated Identity Management protect a user's private information and effectively control access to business systems. Many core IT business systems and cloud service providers can leverage these identity management technologies to provide data security and secure access control.