CIAM (Customer Identity and Access Management) is the direct link between online enterprises and their patrons. From the time a customer registers a profile to their fifth recovery of forgotten credentials, the quality of your CIAM solution shapes perception of your business. Managed CIAM services are a worthy investment for any customer-facing enterprise.
The complicated task of creation, implementation, and management of a CIAM solution frequently leads to flawed and unscalable systems. This lesson is often learned only after hundreds of thousands of dollars have been sunk into a subpar CIAM. By considering the tangible benefits, both immediate and long-term, of Managed CIAM Services, you can avoid costly fumbling and start enjoying the fruits of an expertly-tuned CIAM in the span of a few short months.
The Failings of Traditional CIAM
Traditional CIAM structures, even as far back as paper-only records, have been defined by manual recordkeeping. These outmoded models cost workhours, cause inefficiencies, and neglect regulatory compliance. More than anything, the majority of CIAM solutions will only focus on either customer experience or security, satisfying one while neglecting the other.
To make the customer experience as frictionless as possible many practices forgo vital security safeguards in favor of stopgaps. Their advantage of ubiquity across multiple vendors and platforms makes them attractive for wide scale adoption. MFA (Multi-factor Authentication) was implemented as a quick and easy solution for cyberattacks but has since been proven ineffective. SMS or email OTP (One Time Password) are likewise vulnerable to phishing and fatigue.
Passwordless authentication and identity-proofing addresses this issue, but adoption has not yet reached the levels necessary for easy universal use. In the immediate term most strong security measures prove inconvenient to the average customer, and inconvenience is the bane of a positive customer experiences.
Another glaring flaw with unmanaged customer identity and access is lack of maintenance. System experts leave the company and programs grow dangerously obsolete. Even when a new system is implemented, much of the old data is in danger of being lost. An effective CIAM service provider ensures that while setting up a CIAM program, the focus is not just on migrating legacy databases but also scaling them as the enterprise develops and evolves.
How Managed CIAM Services Improve Efficiency and Security
Managed CIAM services remediate the failings of traditional CIAM program through automation and expert oversight. One of the most effective fixes is enabling self-service. Without self-service, customers must contact their provider every time they have an issue, taking up both their own time and the provider’s resources. A well-designed self-service apparatus, consistently cut back on client service desk calls.
On the security side, traditional privacy management uses manual and siloed authentication services prone to customer friction. Internal automated management solutions strengthen security and boosting efficiency through delegation of management authority. This works especially well in organization with multiple offices, wherein a single and centralized identity fabric replaces the insular solutions of individual offices.
The KPIs of your managed CIAM service depend upon your industry, but all share the same easy-to-quantify metrics. A finance firm might just want to check the compliance box. A government agency could want to reduce support calls by a certain number. A retailer might focus on their conversion rate of browsing-to-paying customers. A managed CIAM service fulfills all three goals for all three businesses at the same time.
Managed CIAM services really shine with scalability and monitoring. Maintaining, futureproofing, addressing security patches, and generally keeping up with evolving needs is a constant endeavor. The challenges of operation are more daunting than implementation, hence why so many companies rely on Simeio’s expert curation.
How the Challenges of Managed CIAM Services are Overcome
This is not to say that managed CIAM service is not without challenges, but the best providers have become experts in solving them. A trap many users fall into is the siren song of loyalty programs, incentivizing customers to create one account after another. It is much better to use a ubiquitous SSO account, where only one login is needed to access features.
Many organizations use SSO to centralize their logins, allowing users of their services to access their music, game library, and all other records from a single pane. SSO cuts down on fraud protection steps while paradoxically increasing security (fewer credentials means a smaller attack surface).
Another challenge is compromising on features during the selection of managed CIAM services vendors. Fortunately, excellent CIAM offerings of Okta, Ping, and Forgerock can be yours in a single package. The key is in combining these feature that sets it into a single highly customizable platform optimized for your unique needs and KPIs.
An identity orchestration platform comes bundled with CIAM, taking on helpdesk in such a way that protects privacy while ensuring permissions are given to those who need to have it, easy to grant and track. Orchestration allows for quick and easy migration of legacy data, providing relief on a major pain point endemic to managed CIAM services.
If you want to assess your need for end to end CIAM services, Simeio employs a dedicated staff of experts to fulfill your unique requirements instead of straightjacketing your enterprise with a one-size-fits-all model. Customizations including data collection and storage, application onboarding, and company branding are just a few reasons to start building your Simeio services package.
