As information and communications technology evolves to the next phase, our dependence on hardware will continue to decrease. The current cloud services available in the marketplace is the beginning of this evolution as we become more software centric. It is now possible to obtain virtually every IT solution as a hosted platform, which will require hardware with small footprint in offices, homes and our person. One of the technologies that is making this possible is virtualization, and VMware, a global provider of cloud infrastructure and business mobility, has announced the industry’s first Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) with an enterprise-class mobility management and security solution called Identity Manager.

One of the biggest concerns for enterprises in making the decision to migrate to the cloud still continues to be security, which includes the authentication process and identity of users. With so many security breaches taking place every week, that concern is warranted. This concern is further exacerbated by the increased integration of mobility in the infrastructure of enterprises. What VMware looks to do with Identity Manager is to continue to transform business processes by delivering an enterprise experience that is more user and application-centric with a robust security protocol.

As the company said, “the Client-Server Era no longer meet needs of the Mobile-Cloud Era.” In today’s cloud Era, business mobility requires the management of employee identity as one of its foundations. What this means for employees is having an experience that allows them to have universal access of the application, content and services they need across all of their devices. On the other hand, for businesses it means having an environment that can deliver more than just individual productivity.

With these points in mind IT organizations must bring together identity and device management as part of their overall offerings.

Identity Manager provides secure, one-touch access to Web, mobile and Windows applications delivered as a cloud service or as an on-premises solution. It gives enterprise-class directory integration, identity federation and user analytics giving IT a central place to manage end-user provisioning, access and compliance.

Some of the key features of Identity Manager include:

• Unique Adaptive Access delivered with integration between VMware Identity Manager and AirWatch (News – Alert) Enterprise Mobility Management for an additional factor of authentication. This maintains conditional access policies between managed and unmanaged devices while providing additional factor of authentication from enrolled devices that is stronger and easier to use than passwords.
• A Customizable and Context Aware (News – Alert) HTML5 Application Portal delivering more secure application for access across any device to empower employees with an on boarding experience that is much simpler than traditional methods.
• Enterprise-Class Infrastructure that is reliable and more secure, running in the cloud or on-premises, and federates existing on-premises Microsoft (News – Alert) Active Directory infrastructures to centralize end-user management.

"Business Mobility is more than a shift in technology; it is an opportunity for true business process transformation," said Sanjay Poonen, executive vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware. "Business Mobility will be a key driver of economic value for the next decade—truly reorienting businesses around mobile innovation, apps and services. As a result, the adage 'adapt or perish' has never been truer than it is today."

The company announced VMware Identity Manager is available immediately as part of the AirWatch by VMware Blue and Yellow Management bundles.