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IBM updates Tivoli Identity Manager (TIM)

By Sean Michael Kerner on June 23, 2009 2:36 PM

From the 'who are you? And what do you want from the network' files:

Identity management is a critical component of modern network infrastructure. It provides the entitlements by which users can assess applications and resources, and it is a key part of regulatory compliance for many.

IBM today is updating their Tivoli Identity Manager (TIM) to version 5.1 -- this is an application that I last looked at in 2007 when TIM 5.0 was released. I took a briefing from Joe Anthony, program director, security and compliance management at IBM, who explained to me what's new in this point update, which Anthony refered to as a 'major' update.

TIM 5.1 adds role management capabilities so enterprises can more accurately seperate duties and management. There are also improvements around access certification and re-certification -- which are especially important in the current economy with staff changes occurring more frequently than ever before.

For IBM, TIM 5.1 is just one part of a holistic view of identity and access management, which is a theme that IBM was pitching to my colleague Alex Goldman during the RSA conference time frame earlier this year.

It all makes sense to me, though I can also see how it can be terribly confusing too.

I still see the TIM release as the cornerstone element of the Tivoli Identity Management portfolio, but there are other solutions too.

There are local user management solutions, federated identity and other niche elements that make up the whole Tivolio identity management portfolio. It's a lot of 'stuff' that an organization might require in order to actually enable a full end to end secure identity management and access infrastructure.

However, I can also see how not every organization will not need every piece that IBM sells, which is why it is important that there are so many pieces -- in order to have a modular solution to meet a long list of enterprise needs.

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