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IDC OPINION
Internet adoption is still going strong, especially in emerging economies. By 2011, it is estimated that 500 million new users will come online and commerce on the Web will double. The hype around Web 2.0 is aiding awareness that the Internet economy is still in its infancy and is moving into new levels of maturity. An organization’s ability to effectively create and/or participate in these Web-driven commerce-based ecosystems will determine success or failure for many businesses and government organizations over the next several years. Traditionally, security has been mislabeled as a business inhibitor for Web-based business. While "secure" and "Web" would have once been incompatible notions, today they are becoming recognized as necessary co-elements in support of dynamic Web-based ecosystems. Separately, technologies such as Web access management (WAM), single sign-on (SSO), identity management, federation, and strong authentication represent new and more efficient ways to conduct IT-enabled business. When leveraged together, however, these technologies lead to greater organizational agility for IT to enable Web-based business transactions in a secure and systematic way. When successfully implemented, these technologies result in tangible benefits for the organization, including:
* Increased security and ability to meet compliance regulations within a Webdriven
business environment
* Increased ability to rapidly map software and services to changing business
requirements, thus positioning the IT security group as a business enabler as
opposed to a business inhibitor
* Increased site traffic due to accessibility, coupled with increased
sales/interaction/transactions due to high customer confidence in security
* Increased ROI for the organization and its partners via secure, federated, and
flexible application integration
* Reduced cost and complexity via automation, delegation, and centralization of
security management processes
Information and processes can and should be an important part of any organization’s competitive advantage. This paper explores how competitive advantage can be effectively realized and leveraged through secure Web business enablement technologies.
METHODOLOGY
IDC wrote this paper in August 2008. The premises and opinions are based on historical and current research. IDC regularly surveys customers and vendors
affected by the challenges of providing effective Web access management (WAM) and related services. Our research documents customer use of identity and access management (IAM) products, security products, and services to achieve this goal. IDC has conducted in-depth interviews with executives familiar with different integration, cross-domain, and Web services security issues and interviewed many firms from different industries focused on implementing solutions specifically designed for IAM and regulatory compliance.
IN THIS WHITEPAPER
IDC explores the complexities specific to Web-based transactions and evolving Web-driven ecosystems. IDC research highlights the solutions available today to achieve security, scalability, management, and compliance within these environments. All of this must be accomplished while providing the end user with a smooth and painless access experience.
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