Security & Compliance

  • 11 min read

Identity Governance vs Identity Management

Rohit Rao

1st August, 2023

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Identity governance and identity management are distinct but interconnected concepts that form the foundation of a robust cybersecurity strategy. 

By adopting both these practices, IT managers can strengthen their security posture, meet regulatory requirements, and ensure a seamless and secure user experience for their workforce. 

In the realm of cybersecurity, two essential pillars stand tall: identity governance and identity management. Understanding the nuances of these crucial concepts is paramount for your IT department.

Identity governance entails a strategic framework of policies, systems, and processes that govern an organization's infrastructure's intricate web of user access. Its primary mission is to meticulously define and enforce access policies, roles, and privileges, ensuring that only authorized individuals gain appropriate entry to sensitive resources.

Meanwhile, identity management emerges as the proficient safeguard, actively managing user identities, access rights, and credentials. It stands at the forefront of thwarting potential cyber threats, simplifying authentication processes, and streamlining user access for enhanced productivity.

Key Differences Between Identity Governance & Identity Management

As IT managers, your strategic vision revolves around fortifying your organization's digital landscape while ensuring efficient operations and robust security. You must understand the crucial distinction between identity management and identity governance to achieve these objectives.

1. Scope & focus

Identity management focuses on the technical intricacies of managing user identities, authentication, authorization, and resource access within an organization's systems and applications. It involves processes and technologies for user provisioning, authentication, and authorization.

Identity governance goes beyond identity management and takes a broader approach. It empowers you to control the entire user access ecosystem through a strategic blend of policies, streamlined processes, and advanced technologies. 

IG acts as the central coordinator of the access management system, ensuring efficient risk mitigation by separating responsibilities to prevent overlapping duties.

2. Objectives & goals

Identity management primarily provides authentication and authorization processes to secure an organization's digital landscape. It employs robust authentication methods, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), to create barriers against unauthorized access. IM defines and controls user access privileges to secure sensitive data and critical systems.

Identity governance focuses on establishing a comprehensive framework for managing and governing user access rights. It takes a proactive approach to security, enforcing access control policies aligned with your business needs and regulations. IG conducts periodic access reviews, prioritizes compliance and risk reduction, and maintains well-documented audit trails for effortless compliance demonstration.

3. Governance & compliance 

Identity management solutions may have some basic governance and compliance features, but their primary emphasis is on providing a solid foundation for access control. It may lack extensive capabilities for managing complex policies, access certifications, and comprehensive compliance reporting.

Identity governance solutions excel at providing robust reporting and auditing capabilities, enabling you to generate comprehensive compliance reports effortlessly. These reports offer a clear and accurate picture of adherence to various regulatory mandates, instilling confidence in your organization's security posture and proving invaluable in demonstrating compliance to auditors and stakeholders.

4. Access certification & review

IM access certification and review involves periodically reviewing and certifying user access rights to ensure appropriateness and compliance with organizational policies and regulatory requirements. It focuses on verifying and validating access privileges assigned to individual users or groups within the systems and applications.

IG access certification goes beyond user access review and certification. IG encompasses a broader set of capabilities, managing and governing the entire identity lifecycle within the organization. This includes user onboarding, offboarding, provisioning, deprovisioning, and enforcing policies throughout the identity management process.

Mismanaged access can lead to security risks, compliance issues, and operational inefficiencies. Thus, having a robust IGA solution is crucial. Zluri is an expert in addressing the complexities of user access management in today's business landscape. With multiple SaaS applications utilized by different teams, keeping track of access rights becomes increasingly challenging.

Enhance Your Identity Governance & Access Management with Zluri

Discover Zluri's IGA platform–the ultimate solution for organizations looking to elevate their identity governance & access management. Zluri's powerful platform offers a unified approach to access management, streamlining the complexities of access permissions and ensuring top-notch security.

With Zluri's IGA platform, your IT teams can effortlessly monitor and manage user access, granting appropriate permissions while thwarting unauthorized access attempts. This platform seamlessly aligns with the modern work decentralization trend while reinforcing robust access controls to safeguard sensitive information from potential threats.

Don't compromise your data security in the face of decentralized work environments. Embrace Zluri's IGA platform and empower your organization with enhanced and effective access management, ensuring a safe and productive digital workspace for your teams. 

Let's explore the distinctive capabilities that set Zluri apart from other IGA tools.

1. Unlocking insights with Zluri's data engine: Discover the power of discovery methods

Zluri's data engine empowers your IT team with cutting-edge discovery methods, providing unrivaled insights into your SaaS app and user-related data. With five robust discovery methods at your disposal, including single sign-on and identity providers, finance and expense management systems, direct app integration, and optional desktop agents and browser extensions, you gain a comprehensive view of your organization's application landscape.

Harnessing the power of these discovery methods, your team can swiftly identify who has access to specific applications, pinpoint active users, scrutinize permissions granted, and even identify critical users accessing the apps. The level of granularity offered by Zluri's data engine provides invaluable insights that fortify your organization's security posture and bolster compliance efforts.

Bid farewell to time-consuming manual categorization of SaaS apps and recording user access data. Zluri's data engine takes automation to new heights, effortlessly identifying managed, unmanaged, and shadow IT apps. This automation allows your IT team to reclaim valuable time and resources, unlocking a more efficient way of managing your app ecosystem.

Security is non-negotiable, and Zluri makes it a breeze for your IT team to maintain a secure access environment. With the intelligent IGA solution, you can ensure that the right employees have appropriate permissions for service accounts, eliminating the risk of unauthorized access.

2. Streamlined automation engine: Enhancing access & user lifecycle management

Efficiency meets security with Zluri's advanced automation engine, revolutionizing how your business handles access and user lifecycle management. No more time wasted on tedious manual processes – Zluri empowers your teams to focus on what truly matters by automating complex access management tasks. 

This automation engine goes beyond the basics of user access; it's designed to optimize the entire user lifecycle. From granting appropriate access to dynamically adapting permissions based on evolving roles, Zluri ensures your organization maintains peak efficiency without compromising data security.

1. Revolutionize User Access Provisioning with Zluri's Onboarding Playbook: 

Zluri revolutionizes user access provisioning by streamlining the entire process, freeing your IT team from repetitive tasks. The platform seamlessly automates operations, ensuring authorized employees receive the right access to essential SaaS apps and data, eliminating human errors and over-provisioning risks.

Empower your IT team with Zluri's intuitive interface, enabling them to effortlessly create and customize onboarding workflows. Now, your team can efficiently grant secure access to multiple new employees simultaneously, tailored to their specific job entitlements, roles, positions, and departments.

No more headaches while designing workflows! Zluri's user-friendly interface allows your IT team to configure access privileges based on job roles and responsibilities with just a few clicks. Embrace our powerful workflow capabilities to witness increased efficiency, enhanced employee productivity, and heightened security for your users and SaaS app data.

To streamline the onboarding process using Zluri, follow these straightforward steps:

Step 1: Access Zluri's workflow module and select "Onboarding" from the dropdown menu. Begin creating your onboarding workflow by clicking on "New Workflow."

Step 2: Select user for onboarding, easily choose the user(s) you wish to onboard. You can manually select them or utilize the search bar to find specific employees. Simply click "Continue" to proceed.

Step 3: On the left side, explore the recommended apps and select the necessary ones for the user. Define the desired actions for each application to tailor the onboarding process.

Step 4: Customize actions further by selecting "Edit Action" and providing the required details. If needed, schedule these actions to execute on the day of onboarding. Once finalized, save the actions by clicking on "Save Task."

Step 5: To ensure future efficiency, preserve the workflow by selecting "Save as Playbook." Name your playbook in the prompted dialogue box and click "Save Playbook." Your onboarding workflow is now ready to be utilized.

Note: Zluri's playbooks offer a remarkable advantage in terms of reusability and flexibility, making it a standout feature of the platform. By leveraging Zluri's reusability and flexibility, you can establish a standardized onboarding process that promotes consistency across your organization while being agile enough to update them whenever necessary.

2. Streamlining deprovisioning by creating an onboarding playbook

When it comes to managing employee departures, be it due to resignation, retirement, or termination, the process of deprovisioning can be quite challenging and time-consuming. However, Zluri offers a solution to streamline this entire process, making it effortless and highly efficient with their intelligent lifecycle management platform.

With Zluri's platform, you can save valuable time and effort while ensuring the security of your organization's data. By automatically revoking access to all devices, apps, and systems, Zluri prevents any unauthorized entry to sensitive information. Moreover, the platform takes care of data backup and transfer to a new owner, safeguarding essential data from getting lost in the process.

Additionally, Zluri simplifies the revocation of employee licenses and eliminates their single sign-on (SSO) access, effectively blocking their usage of any organization applications. This straightforward approach ensures consistent and secure employee offboarding, allowing you to handle departures with ease and confidence.

Now, to streamline the Offboarding process using Zluri, follow these straightforward steps:

Step 1: Access Zluri's main interface and navigate to the workflow module. From the drop-down list, select the offboarding option and click on "New Workflow."

Step 2: Choose the user(s) you wish to offboard by selecting "Select the user for offboarding." Once you've made your selection, click "Continue."

Step 3: Zluri provides recommended actions tailored to specific apps. Effortlessly choose from a range of suggested actions and execute them across the selected applications.

Step 4: To include additional actions, click "Add an Action." Fill in the necessary details and save the task by clicking "Save Task."

Step 5: Finalize the workflow by saving it as a playbook. Provide a name, click "Save Playbook," your offboarding workflow is now set and ready to go.

Note: With these playbooks, you have the power to design workflows and define actions based on specific triggers and conditions, tailoring the automation precisely to your organization's unique requirements and processes. The possibilities are limitless, through this automation, deprovisioning processes are supercharged, guaranteeing swift and accurate access revoking. 

3. Zluri's Self-serve model: Revolutionizing Access Request Management with Intelligent IGA Solutions

Transitioning employees between roles or departments can be a daunting task for any team. Ensuring that they have the right permissions to carry out their new responsibilities while preventing unnecessary access can be complex. But fear not, because Zluri's groundbreaking self-serve model, the Employee App Store (EAS), is here to simplify your access request management.

Gone are the days of manual processes for managing permissions. With EAS, your team and approvers can seamlessly review and approve access requests based on the suitability of each employee's specific job role.

With Zluri, you gain unparalleled control over access privileges, keeping sensitive information safe within your organization's boundaries. With this cutting-edge technology at your fingertips, you can effortlessly safeguard critical data, preventing unauthorized access, and maintain full control over the tools and resources your employees can access.

The robust approval system operates on three distinct levels: app owners, reporting managers, and IT admins. This multi-tiered approach ensures that higher authorities can override decisions made by lower-level admins or managers, enabling swift and decisive action when needed.

Transparency is at the heart of Zluri's IGA solutions. Decision-makers can provide comprehensive explanations by including comments when rejecting an app request, ensuring that employees understand the reasoning behind each determination.

But wait, there's more! Zluri's intelligent solutions empower approvers to modify specific requests, tailoring access precisely to your organization's requirements. Keeping stakeholders informed is vital, which is why Zluri's IGA solutions offer a comprehensive "changelog" feature. With this, users can easily track updates, from approvals and rejections of requests to changes in license duration or tier.

Moreover, the changelog captures valuable insights, including comments added by any admin, fostering a collaborative and informed approach to access management. With Zluri's EAS, managing access requests has never been more efficient or secure.

Enhance security & compliance with Zluri's access review process

Maintaining a secure environment, adhering to regulations, and mitigating potential risks heavily rely on ensuring that the right individuals possess appropriate permissions. Zluri's IGA solution is the game-changer that redefines access management, streamlines IT audits, and facilitates compliance.

The key to Zluri's success lies in its comprehensive approach. To effectively track app access, Zluri provides a centralized platform that consolidates all SaaS systems and applications utilized in your organization's ecosystem. This holistic view equips your IT teams with complete visibility, enabling them to efficiently manage user access across the SaaS stack.

Wondering how? Through Zluri's IGA solution, your teams can seamlessly handle access requests, review permissions, and ensure compliance with industry regulations. Maintaining appropriate access rights can fortify your security posture, safeguard sensitive data, and bolster your overall risk management strategy.

It enhances user access monitoring and offers a robust foundation for your organization's compliance initiatives. With Zluri as your trusted partner, you can confidently navigate the complexities of access management while staying ahead of potential threats and regulatory requirements.

By providing a unified access platform and implementing automated review mechanisms, Zluri empowers your organization to enhance security, reduce the risk of data breaches, and efficiently manage user access privileges. With its robust features and capabilities, Zluri's IGA solution accelerates access reviews by 10X and slashes effort by 70%, allowing you to optimize access management processes. This means more time and resources to drive growth and foster innovation within your organization.

Let's explore how Zluri revolutionizes the process of access reviews and monitoring.

1. Automated access reviews 

Zluri allows you to define specific review parameters, select reviewers, and efficiently schedule campaigns. Through its intelligent automation, Zluri evaluates user access rights based on predefined parameters, policies, and rules, eliminating the need for manual reviews. This not only saves valuable time but also minimizes the risk of errors.

It goes beyond traditional access reviews by offering auto-remediation capabilities. The system can automatically initiate corrective actions for immediate resolution upon detecting any access violation. This proactive approach enhances your organization's security posture by promptly addressing potential risks and ensuring compliance. By taking swift action, Zluri helps prevent security breaches and unauthorized access.

Zluri's IGA also provides a robust mechanism for promptly revoking access for terminated employees or individuals with outdated privileges. By automatically disabling access, Zluri reduces the chances of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. This proactive approach minimizes the risk of unauthorized data breaches and helps safeguard your organization's valuable assets.

Zluri helps generate comprehensive reports that offer a clear and concise overview of access reviews. These auto-generated reports provide valuable insights into access patterns, potential vulnerabilities, and compliance status. You can easily demonstrate compliance to auditors and regulatory bodies by leveraging these reports. 

Furthermore, the insights gained from these reports enable well-informed decision-making regarding access management, empowering your organization to strengthen security measures and optimize access controls.

2. Agile access reviews

Agile access reviews are crucial in minimizing the risk of unauthorized access and potential data breaches. Zluri's IGA offers a unique approach to access reviews. So let's explore how it enhances security and compliance through agile access reviews.

With Zluri’s IGA, you can maintain control over access privileges through recurring certifications. These certifications ensure that access privileges are consistently reviewed and validated on a regular basis. By regularly assessing access rights, you can promptly identify and address any potential security gaps that may arise. This proactive approach significantly enhances security measures and mitigates the risk of unauthorized access.

Zluri's IGA solution also allows your teams to plan and execute access reviews at predetermined intervals through scheduled certifications. By following a scheduled approach, organizations ensure that access privileges are evaluated consistently and in a timely manner. This systematic evaluation minimizes the chances of overlooking critical access issues, ensuring that security vulnerabilities are promptly identified and remedied.

Zluri also offers certificate templates that adhere to industry best practices and regulatory standards to further streamline the certification procedure. These templates provide a uniform process, making it simpler for you and your team to efficiently carry out certifications. Using these templates ensures that the certification process is thorough, accurate, and in accordance with industry standards.

3. Real-time access reviews

Zluri's IGA solution stands out from the crowd by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize access reviews and streamline compliance processes. With advanced AI capabilities, Zluri enhances data security and offers real-time insights into access privileges, ensuring your organization stays protected and compliant.

Zluri's AI-powered anomaly detection algorithms analyze real-time access patterns, user behavior, and system logs. By swiftly identifying unusual or potentially risky activities, Zluri helps you detect security threats and take proactive measures to safeguard your organization's sensitive data. This vigilant approach strengthens your security posture and minimizes the impact of potential breaches.

With Zluri, access reviews go beyond periodic assessments. The platform supports continuous monitoring and evaluations, granting you real-time visibility into access privileges. Stay informed about any changes or potential issues related to access rights, enabling you to address access-related concerns promptly. You reduce the risk of unauthorized access or misuse by proactively resolving access issues.

Zluri's AI compliance capabilities offer intelligent insights and recommendations, facilitating adherence to industry regulations and standards. By aligning your access controls with relevant requirements, Zluri helps reduce the risk of compliance violations. Leveraging the power of AI technology, Zluri streamlines the compliance process, making it easier for your organization to meet regulatory obligations.

Wondering how to automate user access reviews? Zluri’s comprehensive ‘Access certification’ module has got you covered: 

• Step 1: To automate access reviews, access Zluri's main interface and navigate to the "Access certification" module. Within the module, select the option to create a ‘new certification.’

• Step 2: Assign a name to the certification and designate an owner who will oversee the automated access reviews.

• Step 3: Choose the preferred method of reviewing user access by exploring the options: Application, Users, and Groups.

• Step 4: Opt for the "Application" review method if desired and add the relevant application(s) to be audited for users' access.
  

  

  

   

• Step 5: Select a primary reviewer and a fallback reviewer from the dropdown menu for the automated access reviews.

• Step 6: Select the users to be included in the automated access reviews process and apply data filtering to refine the user selection based on certification requirements.
  

  

  

• Step 7: Proceed to the next step and configure the actions to be performed during the automated access reviews, choosing from the provided dropdown list of actions.
  
  Note: If there are multiple applications to be included in the same certification, repeat the process of adding applications as needed.
  

  

  

• Step 8: Specify the start and end dates for the automated access certification process, ensuring they align with recurring or scheduled certifications.

• Step 9: Save the configuration as a template for future use by clicking on the "Save Template" option.

• Step 10: Monitor the progress and updates of the automated access review process for the specific certification by regularly checking the "Review Stage" section.

Zluri's IGA solution is the ultimate choice if you’re looking to enhance your organization’s security in the digital age. By streamlining access provisioning, providing comprehensive visibility and control, and offering powerful insights, Zluri empowers you to take proactive measures in user access monitoring. 

So why wait? With Zluri, ensure compliance, mitigate risks, and effectively protect your organization’s valuable data. Book a demo now!

About the author

Rohit Rao

Rohit works in the Community and Marketing Team of Zluri and is a strong advocate of community led growth.