Historically, most businesses used on-premises IAM solutions to manage user identities and access privileges. Today, many organizations use Identity as a Service (IDaaS) offerings to simplify operations, accelerate time-to-value, and support digital transformation initiatives. An IDaaS offering is an IAM solution delivered as a cloud-based service, hosted and managed by a trusted third party.
IDaaS solutions combine all the functions and benefits of an enterprise-class Identity and Access Management solution with all the economic and operational advantages of a cloud-based service. They help businesses reduce risk, avoid IT infrastructure cost and complexity, and accelerate digital transformation.
IDaaS offerings are ideal for the cloud-first, mobile-first model of IT. They provide centralized, cloud-based identity management and access controls for SaaS solutions and enterprise applications running in public or private clouds. They support identity federation standards like SAML, Oauth, and OpenID Connect that let users access all their applications with one set of credentials. And they make it easy for enterprises to extend access to suppliers, business partners, and contract workers.
Businesses can also use IDaaS solutions to provide remote access to traditional enterprise applications hosted in corporate data centers. Leading IDaaS solutions support app gateways that allow remote workers to securely access conventional enterprise applications without special-purpose VPN appliances or special endpoint client software.