Credential theft and account takeover attacks make up a disproportionately large share of security breaches. 74% of data breaches begin with the misuse of privileged credentials, and 60% of all cyber attacks involve some form of identity theft.
Despite this, many organizations still have no system in place to manage which employees have access to sensitive data and critical resources – putting their whole organization at risk.
This is a problem. Regardless of where employees are working, they need access to key resources like apps, files, and data.
But these resources also need to be only accessible to the appropriate employees, and IT teams need a way to control what users can and can’t access so that sensitive data and functions are restricted to only the people and things that need to work with them.
Identity and access management (IAM) tools allow you to manage your users’ digital identities and ensure all users have access to the resources they need to perform their roles.
What is identity and access management (IAM)?
Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a framework that organizations implement to manage user identities, their access privileges, and the processes for authenticating and authorizing access to resources. It allows IT teams to give secure access to company resources – such as emails, databases, data, and applications – to verified entities, ideally with a bare minimum of interference.
IAM systems typically involve a combination of hardware, software, and policies that work together to identify users by verifying their identity through various methods, such as passwords, biometric data, or security tokens.
Once a user's identity is confirmed, the system determines what resources they are allowed to access based on their assigned roles and permissions. The system then grants users access to the resources they are authorized to use, often through a single sign-on (SSO) mechanism that allows users to access multiple applications with a single set of credentials.
IAM solutions typically include a central repository of user identities that contains information about users, such as their names, email addresses, and other relevant details. It also stores information about the roles and permissions assigned to each user, which determine what they can access and what actions they can perform.
How do IAM Tools work?
IAM tools establish a secure and controlled environment where individuals can access the resources they need. This is achieved through a series of steps:
- Identity Provisioning: Users are added to the IAM system with unique identifiers, such as usernames and passwords. Their roles, permissions, and affiliations are defined.
- Authentication: When a user attempts to access a resource, the IAM system verifies their identity using authentication methods like passwords, biometrics, or tokens.
- Authorization: Once authenticated, the IAM system checks the user's permissions and determines whether they have access to the requested resource. This is often based on role-based access control (RBAC), which assigns users to roles that define their privileges to simplify the management of access rights. This is especially common in large organizations with many users and resources.
- Access Control: The IAM system enforces access control policies to ensure that only authorized users can access specific resources at specific times. This may involve restricting access based on location, time of day, or other factors.
- Monitoring and Auditing: The IAM system tracks user activity and logs all access attempts. This data can be used to identify security threats, detect anomalies, and comply with regulatory requirements.
IAM tools often incorporate additional features such as single sign-on (SSO), which allows users to log in to multiple applications with a single set of credentials, and multi-factor authentication (MFA), which adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of identification.
By automating these processes, IAM tools streamline user management, improve security, and enhance compliance. They help organizations protect their valuable assets and ensure that only authorized individuals have access to the information and resources they need.
Choosing an IAM solution
There are several factors to consider when it comes to choosing the best IAM tool for your business.
For one, you’ll need to assess your organization's specific requirements, considering factors such as the size of your workforce, the complexity of your IT infrastructure, and the level of security and compliance you need to maintain.
Your IAM tool should be able to handle your organization's current and future needs. Consider your expected growth, the number of users, and the complexity of your systems, and choose a scalable solution that can adapt to your changing requirements without significant disruptions.
Most importantly, look for IAM tools that offer the features you need, such as identity provisioning, authentication, authorization, access control, governance, and compliance. This means considering if the tool supports multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, role-based access control, and audit trails.
Best IAM Tools and solutions
There are a variety of Identity Access Management tools on the market today, each with its own set of functions and capabilities for managing user access securely.
Here are ten of the best IAM tools and solutions for 2024 based on their range of features and popularity with users.
Cyberark Workplace Identity
CyberArk Workplace Identity is a comprehensive IAM solution designed to protect organizations from identity-based threats. The platform provides a unified platform for managing user identities, privileges, and access to applications, data, and infrastructure. One of the key features of CyberArk Workplace Identity is its centralized identity management. This allows organizations to consolidate user information and manage access rights from a single platform. This not only simplifies administration but also enhances security by reducing the risk of unauthorized access. The platform also provides tools for rotating passwords, enforcing least privilege principles, and monitoring privileged activity.
CyberArk Workforce Identity and Customer Identity solutions continuously monitor behavioral signals to make sure your users are who they say they are. Using privileged access management, the platform ensures that privileged accounts, which have elevated access to critical systems and data, are protected from unauthorized use, allowing teams to rotate passwords, enforce least privilege principles, and monitor privileged activity.
Sailpoint Identity Security Cloud
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud is a powerful IAM solution that provides numerous security benefits for organizations in managing user identities and access to critical resources. Built on the unified identity security platform SailPoint Atlas, the platform is designed to meet an organization’s needs at every step of its identity security journey. It focuses on identity governance and access control, giving organisations more advanced options as their identity management and governance requirements grow in size, scale and complexity. The platform also provides AI-enabled, automated Zero Trust architecture, and you can connect all your systems and teams with your IT and security apps to dynamically share and act on identity intelligence.
Sailpoint offers robust access governance capabilities, allowing organizations to define and enforce granular access policies. Organizations can establish clear rules and guidelines for who can access what resources, ensuring that only authorized individuals have the necessary privileges. The platform zlxo provides advanced analytics and reporting features, enabling organizations to gain valuable insights into user behavior, identify potential security risks, and monitor compliance with industry regulations. The platform's reporting capabilities can also help organizations proactively address vulnerabilities and maintain a strong security posture.
1Password Extended Access Management (XAM)
1Password Extended Access Management (XAM) is a powerful IAM tool and password manager that offers more than just password storage and autofill. The platform allows employees to use the tools they need to be productive, while ensuring that access is secure across identity, device used, app accessed, and location. Users can validate the identities and permissions of their entire workforce and manage the full user lifecycle from end to end, and block access to corporate resources from unhealthy devices – including personal devices – to simplify and expand compliance. The tool also provides secure access to every application, including ones secured with SSO or otherwise managed by IT – and the unmanaged apps known as shadow IT.
With 1Password XAM, employees can sign in from any location on any device regardless of whether they involve single sign-on (SSO), passwords, multi-factor authentication, or passwordless/passkeys. It managers can also grant or deny access to apps based on dozens of contextual signals, including the state of the device they are using, credential strength, and more. These comprehensive management features, paired with XAM’s user-friendly interface and robust features make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to simplify password management and enhance their online security.
Rippling
Rippling is a unique IAM tool that goes beyond simple access control by centralising user identity with a unified HRIS and IDP right out of the box – no SCIM integration required. From onboarding to offboarding, the platform streamlines employee lifecycle management by automatically provisioning and de-provisioning user accounts, assigning appropriate permissions, and managing device access. This simplifies the login process, improves user experience, and enhances security by reducing the number of passwords to manage.
From provisioning accounts to managing group access, Rippling’s dynamic rules automatically ensure that the right people get the right level of access – even as their roles change. And with the platform’s built-in password manager, you’re able to enable user groups to securely store and share passwords in a zero-knowledge vault. Users can also strengthen security with dynamic rules based on user roles, departments and behaviours, like automatically locking users out of your apps after suspicious activity.
Cisco Duo
Cisco Duo is a leading identity and access management (IAM) platform that offers a comprehensive suite of tools to protect organizations from unauthorized access and data breaches. By providing strong authentication, single sign-on, and advanced security features, Duo helps businesses safeguard their sensitive information and ensure compliance with industry regulations. The tool can assess factors such as the user's device, location, and network conditions, to determine the appropriate level of authentication required, helping prevent unauthorized access from compromised devices or suspicious locations. Duo also offers seamless single sign-on (SSO) functionality, allowing users to access multiple applications with a single set of credentials. This simplifies the login process for employees and reduces the risk of password-related security incidents.
In addition to its strong authentication and SSO capabilities, Duo provides advanced security features such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), device attestation, and anomaly detection, adding an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of verification, such as a password and a push notification to their smartphone. This extra layer of protection, paired with its ease of use and scalability, makes DUO a trusted IAM solution for organizations of all sizes to protect their sensitive data and ensure compliance with industry standards.
AWS Identity and Access Management
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) is a comprehensive IAM solution that securely manages user identities and their access to AWS resources. The platform provides a robust framework for controlling who can access your AWS account and what they can do within it, allowing users to create and manage users, assign them to groups, and define their permissions. This granular control ensures that only authorized individuals have access to the resources they need. by allowing you to assign permissions based on a user's role within your organization. AWS IAM allows you to define policies that specify which actions users can perform on AWS resources. This ensures that users only have the necessary privileges to do their jobs. IAM also supports conditional access policies, which allow you to apply additional conditions to user access based on factors like device type, location, and time of day.
AWS IAM comes with powerful audit and logging capabilities out of the box, allowing you to track user activity and identify potential security threats. The platform also lets you set and manage guardrails with broad permissions, and move toward least privilege by using fine-grained access controls for your workloads. Use service control policies to establish permissions guardrails for IAM users and roles, and implement a data perimeter around your accounts in AWS Organizations.
JumpCloud
JumpCloud
JumpCloud is a leading cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) platform that provides a comprehensive solution for managing user identities, devices, and access to IT resources. The platform is an all-in-one solution for all your IAM needs, allowing organizations to manage all their identity and access management needs from a single console – whether it be user provisioning, authentication, authorization, device management, or application access. Users can also manage device access with features like remote control, inventory management, and policy enforcement.
JumpCloud's IAM platform includes the following features: Directory extensions, Web application single sign-on (SSO/IDaaS), Privileged identity management and privileged access management (PIM/PAM), Two-factor authentication (2FA), and Multi-factor authentication. JumpCloud's platform also uses secure protocols like LDAP, SAML, RADIUS, SSH, and REST to connect users to IT resources, regardless of their platform or location. For example, JumpCloud can update accounts on connected applications, so that when a user is updated in JumpCloud, they're also updated in the application.
Google Cloud Identity
Google Cloud Identity is a powerful IAM tool designed to securely manage user identities, their privileges, and how they interact with Google Cloud resources. One of the key strengths of Google Cloud Identity is its ability to offer granular access control. Administrators can define which users or groups have permission to perform specific actions on different Google Cloud resources, making it easy to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to sensitive data and prevent unauthorized access. Cloud Identity also integrates with hundreds of cloud applications out of the box, enabling employees to work from virtually anywhere, on any device, with single sign-on to thousands of pre-integrated apps, both in the cloud and on-premises.You can extend your on-premises directory to the cloud too thanks to Directory Sync, allowing you to enable access to traditional apps and infrastructure with secure LDAP, and automatically synchronize user information with HR systems
With Google Cloud identity, it’s easy to efficiently enable intuitive user experiences on endpoint devices, and unify user, access, app, and endpoint management with a single consol. You can set up devices in minutes and keep your company data more secure with endpoint management, as well as enforce security policies, wipe company data, deploy apps, view reports, and export details within a single endpoint management dashboard. This makes Cloud Identity a great, all-in-one solution for managing IAM across Google services and beyond.
Okta
Okta is a cloud-based IAM platform that provides provides all the tools you need to effectively secure access to applications, devices, and data. The platform simplifies the process of managing user identities, authenticating users, and authorizing access to resources, providing a comprehensive set of features designed to streamline user management. Okta also provides comprehensive identity governance and administration capabilities. This includes features like user provisioning, de-provisioning, access reviews, and role-based access control (RBAC), which help organizations maintain control over user access rights and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
One of Okta's key strengths lies in its extensive integration capabilities. It seamlessly integrates with thousands of applications, enabling organizations to consolidate their identity management infrastructure and provide a unified user experience. Okta's pre-built integrations streamline the onboarding process and reduce the need for custom development. Okta also provides powerful governance and compliance features, including user lifecycle management, access reviews, and audit trails, making it easy for IT teams tohelp organizations maintain control over their identity infrastructure and ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA.
Microsoft Entra ID
Microsoft Entra ID is a leading IAM solution that’s designed to securely connect users to their applications, devices, and data. As part of the Microsoft Entra family, the platform offers a robust set of features designed to enhance security, streamline user experience, and simplify identity governance. One of the key strengths of Entra ID is its adaptive access capabilities, which leverages multi-factor authentication (MFA) and Conditional Access policies to ensure only authorized users can access sensitive information. The platform also offers single sign-on (SSO), allowing users to access multiple applications with a single set of credentials to eliminate the need for users to remember multiple passwords and improve productivity. Identity governance is another critical aspect of Entra ID. The platform offers features like provisioning, access packages, and access reviews, helping organizations efficiently manage user access rights and ensure compliance with security regulations.
Microsoft Entra is a broader product family that encompasses all of Microsoft's identity and access capabilities. It includes Entra ID, as well as Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) and decentralized identity. Together with the Entra family, Entra ID delivers secure access to everything for everyone by providing comprehensive identity and access management, cloud infrastructure entitlement management, and identity verification solutions. This unified identity management, paired with the platform’s adaptive access capabilities and seamless user experience, makes Entra ID one of the best IAM solutions available today.