5 Ways to Improve Adoption and Strengthen Identity Security

Implementing a robust Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution is a critical first step towards safeguarding your organization, but the real challenge of IAM success lies in achieving widespread adoption. Without full adoption, even the most sophisticated IAM system can be undermined by human error, outdated practices, and lack of awareness.

Are your users aware that security is a collective responsibility? Every individual within the organization has an essential role to play in protecting sensitive data and systems. When employees understand the "why" behind IAM and how it benefits both them and the organization, coupled with an optimized experience, they become active participants in the security ecosystem.

Ultimately, full IAM adoption creates a security-conscious culture where everyone works together to protect the organization"s digital assets. Achieving this level of engagement requires a multifaceted approach.

Here are five ways to improve adoption rates and strengthen your overall IAM strategy:

1. Make it Clear: Articulate Your Vision

Before diving into your Identity and Access Management implementation, it"s crucial to establish a clear vision and roadmap. You"ll need to define your objectives, prioritize your needs, and plan for a phased approach.

Clearly articulate the specific reasons why your organization is investing in IAM. Highlight how IAM offers several benefits:

• Security: Reduce the risk of data breaches, strengthen authentication, protect against insider threats.

• Business:

  Improve employee productivity, streamline IT operations, support digital transformation initiatives.

• Compliance:

  Meet regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, SOX), demonstrate compliance, and reduce audit burdens.

Clearly defining your "why" helps secure buy-in from stakeholders and guides decision-making throughout the IAM journey.

Prioritize Use Cases

Not all IAM needs are created equal. Prioritize the most critical use cases that will deliver the greatest impact and address your most pressing challenges. You could choose to focus on securing privileged access first if that"s your biggest vulnerability, or you could streamline user provisioning to reduce the need for manual processes that are prone to human error.

Making measurable progress on high-priority use cases ensures that your IAM implementation delivers tangible benefits and demonstrates value early on.

Prioritize Use Cases

IAM implementation can be a complex undertaking. To decrease friction and ease the burden on your users, break down the project into manageable phases with clear milestones and timelines. This makes the project less daunting, allows for better resource allocation, and enables you to adjust your approach as needed.

For example, you might start with a pilot project focused on a specific department or application before rolling out IAM across the entire organization. Piloting your project gives you an opportunity to test and refine your approach before a wider deployment.

2. Make it a Team Effort: Foster a Security-First Culture

IAM is a team effort. To achieve full adoption of your IAM strategy, you need buy-in and support from all levels of your organization. Educate employees and stakeholders about its importance and how it benefits the entire organization. Remember, when people understand the value of IAM, they"re more likely to embrace it.

Involve Key Stakeholders

IAM isn"t just a piece of software, and it doesn"t just impact your IT security team. IAM touches every user in every department, so you need to pull in representative stakeholders from across the organization from the start.

Here"s what you need to learn from them:

Business Requirements and Processes

• Understand their workflows: How do different departments use systems and data to perform their jobs? What are their critical applications and data sensitivities?
• Identify access needs: Who needs access to what, and what level of access is required for different roles? This includes understanding any segregation of duties requirements.
• Pain points and challenges: What are the current frustrations with access management? Are there manual processes that can be automated? Are there delays in onboarding or offboarding users?

Security Concerns and Priorities

• Compliance requirements: Are there any industry-specific regulations or internal policies that impact IAM (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR, SOX)?
• Security awareness: How well do employees understand their roles in maintaining security, especially around passwords and access management?

User Experience Expectations

• Usability: What kind of user experience do employees expect from the IAM system? Should it be simple and intuitive, or are they comfortable with more complex processes?
• Accessibility: Does the IAM system need to accommodate users with disabilities or those who work remotely?
• Support: What kind of support do users need for IAM-related issues?

Technical Landscape

• Existing systems: What applications and systems need to be integrated with the IAM solution? Are there any legacy systems that might pose challenges?
• Technical expertise: What is the level of technical expertise within different departments? This will help determine the complexity of the IAM solution and the level of support required.

Find Your IAM Champion

To truly embed security into your organization"s DNA, you need someone who can rally the troops and champion the cause. This person should be someone with a deep understanding of how different departments operate and how IAM can support their needs and have the social capital to be the driving force behind a cultural shift to embrace IAM.

An IAM champion genuinely believes in the importance of IAM and can articulate its benefits to others. This isn"t about choosing the person with the most knowledge; an effective champion will have social capital and the respect of their peers, positioning them to effectively advocate for IAM across different departments.

3. Make it Work: Implement the Right Solutions

Successful IAM strategy is built on a deep understanding of how your business operates and its specific security needs, opportunities, and constraints. Talking to stakeholders throughout your organization will give you the insights you need to select the best IAM solution for your business, which could be a set of tools managed on-site, managed services, or a mix of both.

Whether you go with an on-prem solution managed by an in-house team or choose a cloud-based program monitored by a Managed Identity Service, consider factors such as cost, scalability, security requirements, and internal IT resources when choosing your deployment model.

4. Make it Seamless: Prioritize User Experience and Training

A successful IAM implementation hinges on user adoption. If your solution is cumbersome or confusing, users will resist it, creating security risks and hindering adoption.

The first thing to do is to choose a user-friendly IAM solution with an interface that is easy to navigate and understand, regardless of technical expertise. Then, with training, you can educate and inform users about the risks associated with poor security practices, and how IAM protects their individual data.

If You Train Them, They Will Adopt

It"s human nature to fear the unknown. Comprehensive training improves adoption by removing barriers to user access. Provide clear, concise, and engaging training materials that cater to different learning styles. This could include interactive online modules, video tutorials, and in-person workshops.

To cultivate a security-conscious culture, you will need ongoing training and communication with stakeholders, educating them on best practices for password management, multi-factor authentication, and recognizing phishing attempts.

Training needs may differ based on roles and privileges. For example, employees who handle sensitive data may require more in-depth training on data access policies and procedures. Provide ongoing support through readily available resources like knowledge bases, FAQs, and quick reference guides.Encourage a culture of security awareness by incorporating IAM training into onboarding processes and providing regular refreshers.

Ongoing Support

User education is not a one-time job. Keeping adoption rates high requires ongoing support, which can be provided in several ways. Establish a dedicated help desk where users can get prompt assistance with any IAM-related issues. Offer a comprehensive knowledge base with FAQs to empower users to find answers to common questions independently.

Set up a designated channel or process for collecting feedback from your users in real time. This feedback is critically important to address issues or identify areas for improvement as users reveal hidden security flaws or gaps.

Providing ongoing support sends a message that your organization is committed to improving security, which reinforces its value and encourages wider adoption.

5. Make it Meaningful: Measure and Communicate Success

A well-implemented IAM solution can be a powerful tool for growth, driving efficiency, productivity, and ultimately, profitability, but how do you communicate that value with real data?

Remember, security doesn"t care about your feelings and neither do your stakeholders.

To communicate the positive impact of IAM across the organization, you must convey it in the language of business. Use data and real-world examples to showcase the benefits of IAM and how it contributes to the organization"s success.

Instead of saying, “Automating user provisioning and de-provisioning processes significantly reduced the administrative burden on IT teams,” you could say, "By implementing an automated IAM system, we were able to reduce the time spent on user onboarding by 50%, saving an estimated $100,000 annually in IT labor costs."

Instead of saying, “Strong authentication measures and secure access controls has built trust with customers, leading to increased loyalty and repeat business,” you could say, "After implementing multi-factor authentication, we saw a 15% reduction in customer support tickets related to account security concerns. This improved customer satisfaction and reduced churn."

Dial In to User Needs and Goals

Don"t forget that IAM looks different to users depending on their role in the organization, so you must tailor your communication for each audience. Focus on what is important to them and speak about the problems they are trying to solve.

For executives, focus on the big picture and strategic benefits.

• Highlight how IAM helps meet regulatory requirements (like GDPR, HIPAA, etc.) and avoids hefty non-compliance penalties. Frame this as protecting the organization"s bottom line.
• Quantify the potential financial impact of a data breach on your organization. Show how IAM mitigates this risk by strengthening access controls and preventing unauthorized access.
• Gather data on the impact of IAM on key performance indicators (KPIs) like reduced help desk calls, faster onboarding times, and improved employee productivity. This helps to justify the investment in IAM and demonstrate its value.

For department heads, highlight how IAM supports their specific needs and goals.

• Demonstrate how automated provisioning and de-provisioning of user accounts saves IT time and reduces administrative overhead. Calculate the cost savings in terms of man-hours.
• Improved collaboration = better results. Explain how IAM facilitates secure collaboration by enabling appropriate access to shared resources. This leads to better teamwork and more successful projects.
• Show how automated onboarding processes get new employees up and running quickly, allowing them to contribute sooner. This translates to faster project completion and revenue generation.

Need help solving your adoption challenges? Contact us today.

We offer a complimentary workshop to evaluate your organization"s needs and develop a roadmap to a fully-adopted identity security program that delivers real value to your business.