Analyzing Identity

Andre Durand’s keynote yesterday at the EIC conference contained many quotable quotes, but the one that stood out for me was, “Enterprises must stand up for standards.” Andre said this while describing the role pure play vendors have in the greater IT community – keeping the large vendors honest regarding their commitment to standards.

IdM standards offer the promises of interoperability, independence from vendor lock-in, and future-resilient systems. Does your vendor have the same perspective?

Enterprises can let vendors off the hook if they don’t inquire, specifically, as to how a product implements a particular standard. Do you ask, in advance, detailed questions about how completely a standard is supported? Does your vendor avoid directly answering these questions, or are they forthcoming?

During product evaluations, there are times when purchasers can compromise on any number of issues. Let’s face it; there are no perfect products available. And, no vendor has anticipated every use case. Deadlines are looming, we have to make a decision.

Ultimately, enterprises hold the power and influence in their budgets. Are vendors serious about their commitment to identity management standards? The answer can be found in your purchase order.

This entry was posted on May 6, 2010 at 1:15 am and is filed under Standards. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.