Coming of age or just off the boat? A review of contemporary identity management systems

Identity management (IdM) systems are information systems that help to manage an individual's credentials. This occurs through the establishment, description, maintenance, and eventual destruction of an identity. There are numerous IdM systems in place today that follow a general framework, yet provide users of the system with different solutions. This chapter will present architecture and applications that will help in establishing and analyzing the framework that IdM system follow. It will define the role of IdM systems in today's electronic age, while examining challenges that arise during implementation, management, and integration of the systems. The latter part of the chapter examines eighteen commercial off-the-shelf IdM software solutions. We provide brief discussion on each of the solutions to highlight differences and advantages. The discussions and presentations in the chapter can aid system managers and security professionals in understanding current landscape of Identity Management Solutions and Technologies and analyses we provide can significantly facilitate their decision making and risk management.