What Is Automated Provisioning and Why Is It Necessary

Introduction

IT teams face immense pressure to onboard new hires quickly while also ensuring they only have access to approved resources. This balancing act between speed and security is a constant struggle with traditional manual provisioning. However, there is a solution - automated provisioning.

In this blog post, we’ll dive into the imperative nature of automated provisioning in modern IT management and the tangible benefits it delivers. You’ll also learn exactly how automated provisioning works and see it applied through real-world examples. By the end, you’ll understand why automated provisioning is indispensable for today’s digital landscape. So let’s get started

The Imperative Nature of Automated Provisioning in Modern IT Management

Identity and access management (IAM) and privileged access management (PAM) are crucial for regulating access to sensitive resources. Automated user provisioning plays a pivotal role in these processes by instantly propagating access changes across all associated systems and applications.

Without it, IT teams are left manually tracking each new hire and role change a tangled mess of spreadsheets and help desk tickets.

How Severe Is the Problem?

According to Gartner, Through 2023, organizations implementing IAM and tooling with automated provisioning capabilities Will reduce provisioning time by 80%. This staggering time savings highlights the indispensable nature of automated provisioning.

The Operational Efficiency Gained Through Automated Provisioning

Transitioning from manual provisioning is like stepping out of the stone age. Automated provisioning liberates IT teams from monotonous, repetitive tasks. No more cumbersome paperwork or tracking down approvals. Instead, predefined workflows provision and de-provision user access automatically.

This efficiency enables IT teams to focus on more impactful initiatives like adopting new technologies and advancing cybersecurity strategies. Imagine if your team recouped the hundreds of hours spent on provisioning busy work. The possibilities are endless

Four Cornerstones: The Tangible Benefits of Automated Provisioning

Operational efficiency is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are four cornerstone benefits that make automated provisioning a necessity:

1. Accelerated User Onboarding

Automated provisioning slashes user onboarding from weeks to mere minutes. Preconfigured roles, policies, and access allow new hires to be fully productive on day one. This accelerated onboarding delivers a better employee experience and immediate business impact.

2. Enhanced Organizational Security

By adhering to least privilege principles, automated provisioning enforces access policies consistently across applications and environments. Sensitive resources stay protected while employees get appropriate access to do their jobs.

3. Cost-Effectiveness

Forrester estimates that manually managing user access can cost thousands per employee. Automated provisioning practically eliminates these excessive costs of onboarding and offboarding.

4. Error Reduction

Humans make mistakes, especially when bogged down with hundreds of mundane provisioning tasks. Automated provisioning applies access changes flawlessly every time, avoiding costly errors.

The Mechanics: How Does Automated Provisioning Actually Work?

Modern IAM platforms like OKTA, JUMPCLOUD, and IBM security identity governance and intelligence power automated provisioning with predefined roles, access policies, and API connections. When a new hire event occurs, the IAM platform automatically provisions access via APIS based on attributes from the HR system. When an employee departs, access is promptly de-provisioned. Managers can also request access changes that automatically propagate without IT intervention.

Automated provisioning integrates seamlessly across cloud apps, on-prem systems, and hybrid environments all from one centralized IAM platform. Real-world applications and case studies.

Seeing automated provisioning in action cements why it’s indispensable

Financial services State Street Bank automated provisioning with an IAM platform to onboard new traders rapidly while limiting access to sensitive data.

Healthcare United Health Group automated provisioning to instantly deliver access for doctors and nurses across 1,500 applications. Compliance and auditing improved significantly.

When DocuSign doubled its workforce in 18 months, automated provisioning was crucial for scaling at speed while maintaining security.

These examples showcase how organizations of all sizes and industries gain provisioning superpowers with automation.

Vendor Spotlight Okta Makes Automated Provisioning Effortless

Okta is a leader in identity and access management, with over 15,000 customers globally. Their platform offers a unified approach for automated provisioning that easily integrates with cloud apps, active directories, LDAP, and custom apps via API connections.

Admins manage access policies and provisioning through one central Interface. Automated workflows provision and de-provision users while providing transparency through audit logs. Okta takes care of the complexity behind the scenes making automated provisioning quick, seamless, and secure.

Automated provisioning is the method of granting and managing access to apps, websites, data, and systems within your organization through an automated process but just as automated provisioning can deploy and activate services for users it can also remove user’s access from systems, applications, and data. This is called automated de-provisioning. This process is much more efficient than the traditional process of employee onboarding and offboarding as changes occur across an organization.

The Imperative Nature of Automated Provisioning in Modern IT Management

Manual provisioning processes won’t cut it in the race to digitally transform. Automated provisioning delivers tangible benefits like accelerated onboarding, robust security, efficiency, and error reduction. Modern organizations need the provisioning superpowers that leading IAM platforms provide out of the box.

Identity and access management (IAM) and privileged access management (PAM) are crucial for regulating access to sensitive resources. Automated provisioning plays a pivotal role in these processes by instantly propagating access changes across all associated systems and applications. Without it, IT teams are left manually tracking each new hire and role change—a tangled mess of spreadsheets and help desk tickets.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is automated provisioning secure enough for highly sensitive data?

Leading IAM solutions offer robust security capabilities, including encryption, role-based access, and multifactor authentication. Forrester found that 80% of data breaches involve privileged credential misuse, which automated provisioning helps prevent.

2. How does automated provisioning integrate with existing IT infrastructure?

Integration is simplified with standards like SCIM and support for common protocols like SAML, LDAP, and AD. This enables automated provisioning to work alongside existing directories and apps.

3. What are the limitations of automated provisioning?

While extremely versatile, automated provisioning relies on defined policies, so access exceptions still require human intervention. Automating overly complex policy schemes can be problematic.