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4 Tips for Preventing IDM Stall

By Legacy User posted Apr 11, 2017 01:04 PM

  

Let’s say you implemented an IDM solution about a year ago. Everything hummed along just fine for a while, but now momentum has slowed and you’re experiencing a stall. Here’s how to prevent that stall by doing the right things from the very beginning.

 

Tip #1: Automate to Foster End-User Participation

Perhaps more than any other enterprise security domain, identity management and governance processes require active and meaningful participation from end users, which can be difficult to foster when processes are manual and/or ad hoc. Consistent, automated processes provide users with a better experience, deliver high satisfaction and increase efficiency. What’s more, the interface needs to be hospitable to the business user, not just the IT-savvy user. In fact, a recent Aberdeen report indicates that a focus on the user experience can increase user productivity by 60 percent and user satisfaction by 80 percent.

 

Tip #2: Drive Adoption

In driving adoption, training is a must-have—especially the combination of formal education and informal knowledge transfer.

CA Education has a lot of excellent courses for IDM that are excellent for implementers and administrators. In my experience, clients who take advantage of these courses are invariably better prepared for governance when we leave.

Also essential is to leverage ongoing technical knowledge transfer from our technical people—the consultants—to your team’s technical people. We work with your team to show them the ins and outs of the solution, including configurations, log reading, daily backups and recovery, to name just a few. We work hand in hand with the client to be certain the client team is ready to take over governance of the solution. Alternatively, we can provide short- or long-term application management services.

 

Then there’s the all-important documentation. I’m not talking about reams of paperwork, but we make sure we leave behind enough material so that a year after implementation, when the client wants to expand the project, they have what they need to move quickly. Plus, they don’t have to review everything and figure out what the previous team had in mind.

CA Communities are a great forum for customers, CA colleagues and partners to share experiences, knowledge, and information about new offerings.

 

Tip #3: Keep Current on Releases

Software is dynamic and undergoes continuous improvement. CA Identity Management is a great example of how feedback we receive from our clients results in new capabilities. Approximately every six months, CA releases a new service pack with new capabilities and code modifications. Because upgrades are inevitable, it’s just logical—and essential—to plan ahead. By doing so, you get both new capabilities and program modifications. Most clients plan upgrades in 18-month cycles. Look for a future blog to deep dive into the planning process.

 

 

Tip #4: Minimize Customization

This is so crucial to preventing stall that it has its own post. If you haven’t read it already, take a look.

I welcome your input on what works for you in avoiding the dreaded stall. Please feel free to leave your comments.

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