To see how well these pieces work together, we invited 10 vendors to submit products to our Syracuse University Real-World Labs. We sought packages that provide sophisticated rules-based Web authentication and authorization, single sign-on, directory-store integration and a comprehensive set of logging/auditing features. In addition, we wanted products that have an integrated identity-management component or that work with other products offering identity management. We judged the entries on performance and availability, ease of management and configuration, price, security architecture, and integration with various Web servers and directory stores.
Of the vendors with products that met our requirements, Entegrity Solutions, Hewlett-Packard, Netegrity, Novell and RSA Security stayed the course for testing. Open Networks and Oblix accepted our invitation but dropped out after reading our detailed test plan. Oblix cited a lack of resources, while Open Networks said the review "didn't mesh with its strategy." Entrust said it didn't have the resources to participate. Sun bowed out because it had recently acquired WaveSet and felt it needed more time to incorporate that company's products into its IAM line before participating in a high-profile review (see "Sun Catches Some WaveSet,"). IBM simply declined.
Not Just Set and Forget
An IAM implementation involves more than buying the software and setting aside a few days to install it. It requires considerable planning and may demand consultants; we list some of the resource and identity-store information you'll need to gather in "Roll Out the Red Carpet,". All the products we tested scaled well for thousands of simultaneous users, and any will meet most enterprise needs. The major variables are the products' features and ease of use.
All the products are priced per user, and most require a minimum of 1,000 users. Per-user prices range from $20 to $50, but beware the hidden costs: All the vendors recommend consulting services. A global IAM consultant told us IAM implementation typically takes six months, and more than a year for large enterprises.
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