IAM unifies how people and services prove who they are and what they can do.
Building blocks
- Central directory of users, groups, and service principals.
- Authentication flows such as single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
- Authorization policies enforced through roles, attributes, or context.
- Audit trails and attestation workflows for compliance.
Maturity cues
- Automated provisioning and deprovisioning linked to HR events.
- Periodic access reviews with approval trails.
- Fine-grained policies that adapt to device health and location.
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View all termsAuthentication vs Authorization
Authentication verifies who you are, while authorization determines what you can do.
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An open authentication standard that enables passwordless and phishing-resistant login using hardware security keys or platform authenticators.
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A network authentication protocol that uses secret-key cryptography and trusted third parties to verify user and service identities without transmitting passwords.
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An open, vendor-neutral protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory services over a network.
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An authentication method that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access.
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