In the realm of business-to-consumer (B2C) interactions, companies operating in the consumer financial services sector typically find themselves dealing with various silos of identity information that exist in different formats. These silos may pertain to current and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and other financial services, making it challenging to offer customers a seamless online experience encompassing all these diverse services.
Identity orchestration has emerged as a solution to this issue in recent years. This technology revolves around platforms designed to amalgamate the disparate identity systems within an organization in a manner that is transparent to end users accessing the company’s applications. By doing so, identity orchestration facilitates a polished and cohesive experience for customers interacting with a range of financial services. Specifically, identity orchestration helps organizations cope with the complexities associated with using multiple identity providers (IdPs) and services in hybrid and multicloud environments.
The significance of orchestration is increasingly evident in large enterprises across various industries such as financial services, retail, travel, and hospitality. These sectors face the dual challenge of delivering a seamless online customer experience while ensuring the security of both customer funds and corporate assets. Given the vast customer bases these enterprises serve, often comprising millions of users, and the multitude of identity management technologies they employ, identity orchestration offers the potential for integrated operations that can meet customer needs while upholding security protocols.
Advocates of identity orchestration often liken it to a control plane that spans an organization’s multiple identity silos and diverse application ecosystems, including hybrid and multicloud environments. Drawing parallels with historical technological advances, one could compare identity orchestration to the middleware solutions of the 1980s and 1990s, which enabled services to leverage applications beyond those provided by the underlying operating system. Another analogy could be made with the interpreters at the United Nations headquarters, who facilitate communication among representatives speaking different languages.
The common thread in these comparisons is the idea of an abstraction layer bridging two complex environments that require seamless communication and interaction. In the case of identity orchestration, these environments consist of identity services and the applications that rely on them for access. Vendors operating in this space must champion the benefits of identity orchestration to drive its adoption and development. Market analysis suggests that identity orchestration is poised to mature and coalesce in the marketplace over the next few years.
Identity orchestration offers numerous advantages for developers, end users, and IT administrators. These benefits include improved user experience through features like passwordless authentication, risk-based multifactor authentication (MFA), and single sign-on (SSO) that streamline user interactions. Moreover, identity orchestration enhances security measures by detecting fraudulent activities without disrupting genuine user experiences. By monitoring login attempts in real time and adapting user pathways based on risk levels, identity orchestration systems empower organizations to thwart potential threats effectively.
Additionally, identity orchestration contributes to increased IT and developer productivity by simplifying identity and access management (IAM) processes without necessitating custom code development. This streamlines authentication procedures, allowing developers to focus on core projects while freeing IT teams from routine help desk inquiries related to authentication.
Furthermore, as organizations expand, identity orchestration facilitates the creation and modification of user journeys during new market ventures, mergers, and acquisitions. In a multi-identity context, identity orchestration enables seamless transitions between different identity vendors and products affecting user experiences. By acting as the cohesive element in the identity ecosystem, identity orchestration supports centralized decision-making and automates customer journeys within an organization.
Looking ahead, identity orchestration is expected to gain momentum in the years to come. It not only streamlines identity processes from onboarding to threat detection and response but also facilitates integration with third-party tools in each of these domains. By serving as the linchpin of the consolidated identity stack, identity orchestration promotes centralized decision-making and automated customer journeys, thereby optimizing user experiences, enhancing fraud protection, and bolstering security measures. Identity orchestration is fundamental to the consolidation of various components within the identity stack, ensuring seamless interoperability to meet the evolving needs of modern enterprises.