Turn Identity Management Challenges Into Sales

Identity experts say now is the time for VARs to leverage identity awareness by getting into the hot identity and access management (IAM) market.

IAM is an integrated system of business processes, policies, and technologies that enable organizations to control users' access to online applications and resources. IAM also protects confidential personal and business information from unauthorized access. It represents a category of interrelated solutions that are used to administer user authentication, access rights, access restrictions, account profiles, passwords, and other attributes.

The need for stronger identity management is growing across all company sizes and types. As IT delivers more user productivity with more access to applications and data, the need for monitoring and mitigating the risk of fraud also grows. "Social engineering attacks like phishing [sending an e-mail falsely claiming to be a legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft] and pharming [an attack aimed at redirecting a Web site's traffic to a bogus Web site] are growing in frequency and intensity, demanding stronger user authentication measures," explains David Forsch, director of channel marketing for BioPassword. "Many organizations are also under pressure to comply with privacy and risk management regulations."