Micro Focus Identity Governance - Detailed Review
Security Tools
Micro Focus Identity Governance - Product Overview
Micro Focus Identity Governance Overview
Primary Function
Micro Focus Identity Governance, also known as NetIQ Identity Governance, is an identity governance and administration (IGA) solution. Its primary function is to ensure that the right people have the right access at the right time for the right reasons. This is achieved through the centralized orchestration of user identity management and access control, which is crucial for enterprise IT security and regulatory compliance.
Target Audience
This solution is targeted at IT and security departments within organizations, particularly those in industries with stringent regulatory requirements. It is beneficial for any organization looking to streamline access management, reduce security risks, and maintain compliance with various regulations.
Key Features
Automated User Access Review and Recertification
The solution automates the review and recertification of user access, ensuring that access permissions are continuously aligned with regulatory requirements and organizational policies.
Compliance and Risk Management
It helps organizations achieve rapid compliance by automating policy enforcement and real-time reporting. This includes event-based access certification processes and adaptive, policy-driven enforcement based on real-time risk assessments.
Access Governance
Micro Focus Identity Governance ensures that only authorized users access critical resources, reducing security risks and human error. It collects and visualizes identities and entitlements across the entire environment, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid setup.
Analytics and Role Mining
The solution allows for the analysis of entitlements throughout the enterprise, enabling the visualization of roles and their implementation to support business requirements. It also provides over 30 out-of-the-box reports that can be customized to make informed business decisions.
Auditing and Reporting
It enhances auditing and reporting capabilities, enabling organizations to identify potential risks, areas of non-compliance, and make necessary changes to defend their compliance with regulations.
Operational Efficiency
By eliminating manual, error-prone processes, Micro Focus Identity Governance enhances operational efficiency, reduces the cost and risk of potential data breaches, and allows information handlers to focus on their primary responsibilities.
This solution is essential for maintaining the smooth operation of business workflows, ensuring security, and meeting regulatory compliance requirements.
Micro Focus Identity Governance - User Interface and Experience
User Interface of Micro Focus Identity Governance
The user interface of Micro Focus Identity Governance, now part of OpenText, is designed to be user-friendly and efficient, particularly for business managers and IT administrators.
Business-Friendly Interface
The solution provides a business-friendly interface that simplifies the management of user access. It is built on a common governance model, making it easier for non-technical users to manage access permissions and certifications without getting bogged down in technical details.
Automated and Simplified Processes
Micro Focus Identity Governance automates and simplifies key processes such as access certification, role management, and risk scoring. This automation reduces the workload associated with approval and certification, allowing managers to focus on access exceptions rather than routine tasks. The interface is intuitive, enabling business managers to make informed decisions quickly and effectively.
Real-Time Visibility and Insights
The system collects and reviews identity and entitlement data across the entire infrastructure, including on-premise, hybrid, and cloud applications. This provides real-time visibility into who has access to what resources, allowing for immediate identification and action on access governance issues. The interface presents this information in a clear and actionable manner, enabling swift decision-making and remediation.
Integrated Risk Scoring and Reporting
The interface includes features like risk scoring, which aggregates information to simplify risk calculations for business users. It also offers updated reporting capabilities, including out-of-the-box support for scheduling and distribution of reports on entitlements, certification status, and policy violations. These features make audit reporting easier and more efficient.
Service Desk Integration
The solution integrates with service desk tools like ServiceNow and Remedy, automating the revocation of access and ensuring that these actions are tracked and completed. This integration streamlines the process, reducing manual errors and enhancing overall efficiency.
Deployment Flexibility
The interface supports deployment both on-premises and via SaaS, providing flexibility based on the organization’s needs. This flexibility ensures that the solution can adapt to various IT environments without compromising on usability or functionality.
Overall User Experience
The overall user experience is enhanced by the solution’s ability to streamline administrative tasks, reduce certification fatigue, and provide clear insights into access permissions. Business managers appreciate the simplicity and effectiveness of the interface, which allows them to manage access and compliance with greater ease and confidence.
Conclusion
In summary, the user interface of Micro Focus Identity Governance is designed to be intuitive, automated, and insightful, making it easier for users to manage identity governance and compliance efficiently.
Micro Focus Identity Governance - Key Features and Functionality
The Micro Focus Identity Governance
The Micro Focus Identity Governance, now part of OpenText, is a comprehensive solution for managing and governing digital identities within an organization. Here are the main features and how they work, along with their benefits:
Identity Governance
This component focuses on ensuring that the right people have the right access to the right resources. Key features include:
Access Certification and Reviews
This feature automates user access reviews and recertification processes. It ensures that access permissions are regularly reviewed and updated, aligning with organizational policies and compliance requirements. This helps in maintaining continuous compliance and reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
Micro-Certifications
This allows for more granular and frequent access reviews, focusing on specific resources or groups rather than full-scale reviews. This approach helps in identifying and addressing access issues more promptly.
Access Request and Approval
The system streamlines the process of requesting and approving access to resources. It ensures that all requests are properly vetted and approved by the appropriate stakeholders, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
Segregation of Duties (SoD)
This feature ensures that no single user has too much access or control, thereby preventing potential conflicts of interest or security breaches. It enforces policies that separate critical functions to minimize risks.
Identity Manager
This component handles the entire identity management lifecycle. Key features include:
Automated Provisioning
The system automates the creation, modification, and deletion of user accounts across various systems, ensuring that users have the necessary access to perform their roles. This reduces manual errors and speeds up the onboarding and offboarding processes.
Identity Attribute Management
This feature manages the attributes associated with user identities, ensuring that user profiles are accurate and up-to-date. It helps in maintaining consistent identity data across different systems.
Password Synchronization
The system synchronizes passwords across multiple systems, making it easier for users to manage their credentials while ensuring that password policies are enforced uniformly.
Data and Event Transformation
This feature transforms data and events to align with organizational business processes. It ensures that changes in connected systems are detected and adjusted in real-time, maintaining continuous compliance.
Event-Based Architecture
The solution uses an event-based architecture to respond to user lifecycle events. This means that changes in user roles, job changes, or other significant events trigger automated responses, such as provisioning or deprovisioning access, ensuring that security controls are always up-to-date.
Compliance and Reporting
Compliance Reporting
The system generates detailed reports to help organizations comply with industry regulations and internal policies. It includes predefined report definitions and the option to import custom reports.
Audit Logs
The solution provides comprehensive audit logs that capture all changes made to user accounts and access rights. This simplifies tracking user activity and monitoring access requests and approvals, which is crucial for compliance and risk management.
AI Integration
While the provided sources do not explicitly detail the integration of AI in the current version of Micro Focus Identity Governance, the solution’s ability to perform real-time risk assessments and adaptive policy enforcement suggests a level of automation and intelligence. For instance, the system can evaluate and prioritize access risks dynamically using integrated risk scoring, which implies some level of automated analysis and decision-making.
In summary, Micro Focus Identity Governance, now part of OpenText, offers a unified framework for managing and governing digital identities, ensuring compliance, and reducing security risks through automated processes, real-time monitoring, and comprehensive reporting.
Micro Focus Identity Governance - Performance and Accuracy
Performance
Micro Focus Identity Governance demonstrates strong performance in several areas:Automation and Efficiency
The solution automates many processes related to access requests, access certification, identity lifecycle management, and compliance reporting. This automation streamlines tasks, reducing manual errors and increasing operational efficiency.Scalability
It can scale to manage billions of identities, making it suitable for large and complex enterprise environments.Real-Time Risk Assessments
The system applies adaptive, policy-driven enforcement based on real-time risk assessments, ensuring that security policies are responsive and aligned with organizational needs.Continuous Compliance
It detects changes in connected systems and adjusts security controls to maintain continuous compliance, thereby reducing risk and increasing efficiency.Accuracy
The accuracy of Micro Focus Identity Governance is enhanced through several features:Access Certification
The solution runs effective access certification campaigns, including micro-certifications, to ensure that access is appropriate and compliant with regulatory requirements.Identity Discovery and Mapping
It helps in gaining insight through identity discovery and mapping, establishing a clear understanding of who has access to what resources.Governance Insight
The system provides governance insight, enabling organizations to determine who has access to which resources and whether that access is appropriate.Risk Scoring
Integrated risk scoring allows for the dynamic evaluation and prioritization of access risks, improving overall risk management.Limitations and Areas for Improvement
While the solution is comprehensive, there are some areas to consider:Implementation Challenges
Setting up a robust governance practice can be challenging, especially if the organization lacks a clear governance framework. It is crucial to involve business stakeholders and align the solution with organizational objectives.Integration Requirements
The solution needs to integrate with various systems and applications, both on-premises and in the cloud. Ensuring seamless integration can sometimes require custom work, especially for unique or legacy systems.User Training
Effective use of the solution requires proper training for administrators and business stakeholders. Ensuring that all users are well-versed in the system’s capabilities and limitations is essential for optimal performance.Additional Considerations
Compliance and Regulatory Needs
The solution must be configured to meet specific compliance regulations and industry standards. Regular updates and adjustments may be necessary to align with evolving government mandates. In summary, Micro Focus Identity Governance (OpenText) offers strong performance and accuracy in managing and governing digital identities, but it requires careful implementation, integration, and ongoing management to fully leverage its capabilities. Micro Focus Identity Governance - Pricing and Plans
Pricing
- The service is priced at £2.74 per user. This is consistent across the sources that mention pricing.
Plans and Features
There is no explicit mention of different tiers or plans in the sources provided. However, here are the key features that are included in the Identity Governance service:
- Identity Governance: This includes collecting and reviewing entitlement data, leveraging analytics and role mining, and defining controls to detect and handle violations and exceptions.
- Access Governance: Features such as access certification, approval management, and continuous governance are part of the service.
- Hybrid Environment Support: The service supports both on-premises and SaaS deployment options.
- Risk Management: It includes real-time adaptive governance, risk reporting, and the ability to remove excessive or erroneous entitlements.
- Compliance: The service helps in meeting compliance mandates and reducing the risk of compliance violations.
Free Options
There is no mention of any free options or trial plans for Micro Focus Identity Governance in the sources provided.
If you need more detailed information or specific pricing for your organization, it is recommended to contact the Micro Focus sales representative or partner directly, as suggested in the sources.
Micro Focus Identity Governance - Integration and Compatibility
Integration with Other Tools
Identity Manager
Identity Governance closely integrates with OpenText Identity Manager, which manages the entire identity management lifecycle, including automated provisioning, identity attribute management, and password synchronization. This integration allows for seamless management of identities and their associated attributes.
Identity Reporting
Identity Reporting is a component that comes with both Identity Governance and Identity Manager, but the reports provided differ depending on the installation context. When installed with Identity Governance, it provides detailed reports on business-critical processes and systems. The reports and requirements can vary if installed in an Identity Manager environment.
Workflow Engine
The Workflow Engine is an optional component that runs workflows at runtime and manages approval tasks for approvers. It is compatible with Identity Governance and can be installed on the same Tomcat server.
Drivers and Supported Systems
Identity Governance supports various drivers to collect account and permission entitlements from on-premises Identity Manager environments. It is compatible with drivers in Identity Manager versions 4.7.5 and 4.8.4, and later patched versions.
Compatibility Across Platforms and Devices
Operating Systems
Identity Governance is compatible with a range of operating systems, provided that the virtualization systems officially support these operating systems. This includes support for enterprise-class virtual systems.
Virtual Systems
The solution supports deployment on virtual systems as long as the vendors of these systems officially support the operating systems where the products are running.
Database Compatibility
Identity Governance supports several databases, and the servers hosting these databases can be on enterprise-class virtual systems that provide official support for the operating systems.
Application Server and Java
It requires Apache Tomcat 9.0.83 or later patched versions and Azul JDK 11.0.21 or later respective patched versions for its operation.
Deployment Options
Identity Governance can be deployed either on-premises or via SaaS, offering flexibility in how organizations choose to manage their identity governance needs.
In summary, Micro Focus Identity Governance is highly integrated with other identity management tools and is compatible with a variety of platforms, including different operating systems, virtual systems, and databases. This ensures that it can be seamlessly incorporated into diverse IT environments.
Micro Focus Identity Governance - Customer Support and Resources
Customer Support Options for Micro Focus Identity Governance
When using Micro Focus Identity Governance, which is now part of OpenText, you have access to a comprehensive range of customer support options and additional resources to ensure you get the most out of the product.Technical Support
Micro Focus offers 24-hour access to its global support organization. This includes assistance from technical support engineers via chat, email, or telephone. You can also expect notifications about new software versions and patches, and there are clear guidelines on when to expect an initial response to an incident.Support Plans
There are several support plans available:Business Support
This is included with your product license and provides access to technical support, online self-help resources, and updates on new features and solutions.Premium Support
This offers direct access to named, industry-leading specialists. You can have a dedicated technical advisor or advocate, and even someone to review your software support strategy.Flexible Credits
Flexible Credits provide a flexible way to obtain short-term reactive and proactive services such as supportability reviews, on-site days, scheduled standby, critical incident assistance, consulting, and education. These credits can be purchased at the time of your support renewal or anytime throughout the life of your support contract and redeemed within 12 months.Extended Support
For older products, Extended Support Plus may be available for an additional fee, ensuring continued support as your product ages.Training and Education
Micro Focus offers comprehensive training programs that are convenient and affordable, available in multiple delivery methods. These programs help your IT team become proficient with the products, allowing you to get the most out of your IT investment.Community and Resources
You can connect with other users and experts through OpenText communities. These communities provide a platform to discuss issues, find solutions, and get advice from peers and experts. Additionally, there are extensive online resources, including a knowledge base, documentation, and installation guides.Consulting Services
Micro Focus Consulting and its trusted partners offer services that include business strategy and technical expertise. They can help you increase business-critical capabilities, achieve tangible results, and create a competitive advantage. By leveraging these support options and resources, you can ensure that your implementation and ongoing use of Micro Focus Identity Governance are smooth, efficient, and highly effective. Micro Focus Identity Governance - Pros and Cons
Advantages of Micro Focus Identity Governance
Micro Focus Identity Governance, now part of OpenText, offers several significant advantages that can enhance an organization’s identity management and security:Automated Identity Management
The solution automates the entire identity management lifecycle, including user provisioning, identity attribute management, and password synchronization. This automation streamlines processes related to access requests, access certification, and identity lifecycle management, reducing manual errors and increasing efficiency.Access Certification and Compliance
It enables effective access certification campaigns, ensuring that users have appropriate access to resources. Features like certification reviews, micro-certifications, and segregation of duties (SOD) help in maintaining compliance with industry regulations and organizational policies. The system can detect changes in connected systems and adjust security controls for continuous compliance.Centralized Auditing and Reporting
The solution provides centralized auditing of access rights, allowing authorized employees to review and certify user access periodically. It includes Identity Reporting modules for visual analytics and reporting, which help in detecting process violations, preparing for audits, and fine-tuning IGA processes.User Self-Service
Micro Focus Identity Governance includes a self-service portal where users can manage their personal information, request access to resources, and reset passwords without involving the IT department. This reduces the administrative load and ensures users’ corporate profiles are up-to-date.Risk Management
The system evaluates and prioritizes access risks dynamically with integrated risk scoring, ensuring policies are responsive and aligned with organizational needs. It also enforces adaptive, policy-driven enforcement based on real-time risk assessments.Cross-Platform Support and Localization
The solution offers cross-platform support and localized user interfaces, making it suitable for global organizations. The interfaces are available in multiple languages, including Russian, which enhances usability for diverse user bases.Disadvantages of Micro Focus Identity Governance
While Micro Focus Identity Governance is a comprehensive solution, there are some potential drawbacks to consider:Integration Challenges
Implementing and integrating Micro Focus Identity Governance can be complex, especially in hybrid IT environments. This may require significant time and resources to ensure seamless integration with existing systems.Cost and Resource Intensive
The solution might be costly, both in terms of initial setup and ongoing maintenance. It also requires skilled personnel to manage and configure the system effectively, which can be a resource-intensive task.Potential for Over-Complexity
For smaller or less complex organizations, the full suite of features offered by Micro Focus Identity Governance might be more than what is needed. This could lead to unnecessary complexity and overhead.Limitations in Certain Environments
While the solution is powerful, it may have limitations when dealing with specific types of data repositories or SaaS applications. For example, some organizations might find that alternatives like Zluri are more suited for managing SaaS app access. In summary, Micro Focus Identity Governance is a powerful tool for managing and governing digital identities, but it requires careful consideration of its potential complexities and costs to ensure it aligns well with the organization’s needs. Micro Focus Identity Governance - Comparison with Competitors
When Comparing Micro Focus Identity Governance
Now part of OpenText, Micro Focus Identity Governance offers unique features in the identity and access management (IAM) and identity governance category. Here are some key points to consider:
Unique Features of Micro Focus Identity Governance
- Comprehensive Identity Governance: Micro Focus Identity Governance (now OpenText) provides a holistic approach to identity governance, including access governance, entitlement collection, approval management, and continuous governance. It integrates identity governance and identity management to simplify administrative tasks and boost operational efficiency.
- Real-Time Adaptive Governance: This solution enables real-time adaptive governance, allowing for continuous risk reduction and better access decisions through business insights. It replaces manual, error-prone methods with automated processes to ensure compliance and mitigate risk.
- Analytics and Role Mining: The platform leverages analytics and role mining to identify commonalities and define controls to detect and handle violations and exceptions. This helps in reducing the risk of inappropriate access and streamlining access certification campaigns.
Alternatives and Comparisons
OpenText Identity and Access Management (IAM)
OpenText’s broader IAM solutions include features like single sign-on (SSO), adaptive authentication, and privileged access management. These tools simplify user access, ensure compliance, and protect sensitive data. While the IAM suite is more comprehensive, the Identity Governance component specifically focuses on governance and compliance.
Other Identity Governance Solutions
- SailPoint IdentityIQ: SailPoint is a major player in the identity governance market, offering advanced capabilities such as access certification, role management, and compliance management. It is known for its strong focus on identity analytics and risk-based access controls.
- IBM Security Identity Governance: IBM’s solution provides automated identity and access management, including access certification, role management, and segregation of duties. It integrates well with other IBM security products and offers a robust set of features for managing identities across various systems.
AI-Driven Security Tools with Identity Governance Capabilities
While not exclusively identity governance tools, some AI-driven security solutions offer complementary features that can enhance identity governance:
- Vectra AI: Primarily focused on threat detection and response, Vectra AI’s platform includes capabilities for monitoring identity systems and detecting suspicious behaviors. It does not replace traditional identity governance but enhances security by identifying potential threats related to identity misuse.
- Balbix: An AI-based security solution that quantifies cyber risk and predicts breaches, Balbix includes features for continuous asset discovery and vulnerability assessment, which can integrate with identity governance to provide a more comprehensive security posture. However, it is not a direct replacement for identity governance solutions.
Pricing and Deployment
- Micro Focus Identity Governance: Priced at £2.74 per user, this solution offers flexibility in delivery options, including SaaS deployment.
- Other Solutions: Pricing for other identity governance solutions can vary widely. For example, SailPoint and IBM Security Identity Governance typically require custom quotes based on the organization’s needs and size.
In summary, Micro Focus Identity Governance (now OpenText) stands out with its comprehensive approach to identity governance, real-time adaptive governance, and analytics-driven role mining. While other solutions like SailPoint and IBM offer strong alternatives, AI-driven security tools like Vectra AI and Balbix can complement but not replace traditional identity governance solutions.
Micro Focus Identity Governance - Frequently Asked Questions
What is Micro Focus Identity Governance?
Micro Focus Identity Governance, now part of OpenText, is an identity governance and administration (IGA) solution that helps organizations manage and govern digital identities. It integrates identity governance and identity management to ensure appropriate access to resources, boost compliance, and mitigate the risk of data breaches.What are the key features of Micro Focus Identity Governance?
Key features include access certification reviews, micro-certifications, access request and approval processes, segregation of duties (SOD), and governance insights. The solution also offers analytics, role mining, and the ability to define controls for detecting and handling violations and exceptions. Additionally, it provides automated provisioning, identity attribute management, and password synchronization.How does Micro Focus Identity Governance improve access management?
The solution improves access management by automating access certification campaigns, implementing identity governance controls, and reducing the risk of inappropriate access. It uses real-time adaptive governance to continuously reduce risk and drive better access decisions through business insights. It also streamlines processes related to access requests, access certification, and identity lifecycle management.Can Micro Focus Identity Governance be deployed on-premises or via SaaS?
Yes, Micro Focus Identity Governance can be deployed both on-premises and via a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, offering flexibility in delivery options.How does the solution handle user lifecycle management?
The solution, through OpenText Identity Manager, manages the entire identity lifecycle. It synchronizes user credentials across all connected systems from the moment an employee is hired, automates the granting and revoking of permissions, and ensures that access rights are revoked immediately upon an employee’s departure. This minimizes the risks associated with dismissed employees accessing critical corporate information.What role does analytics play in Micro Focus Identity Governance?
Analytics play a crucial role by collecting and visualizing identities and entitlements across the entire environment. The solution leverages analytics and role mining to identify commonalities and detect violations or exceptions. It also provides integrated risk scoring for dynamic risk management and offers Identity Intelligence and Identity Reporting modules for visual analytics and reporting.How does the solution ensure compliance with regulatory mandates?
Micro Focus Identity Governance helps organizations comply with regulatory mandates by implementing effective access certification campaigns, segregation of duties policies, and continuous monitoring of access rights. It also provides tools for preparing for audits and demonstrating compliance with industry requirements and business rules.What is the role of automation in Micro Focus Identity Governance?
Automation is central to the solution, relieving pain points in identity fabric operations. It automates processes such as day-one provisioning, risk response, dynamic business role membership, and access reviews. Custom workflows can be created to automate logical steps, reducing the need for manual intervention.How does the solution support user self-service?
The solution includes a self-service module that allows users to manage their personal information, request access to necessary resources, and reset passwords without IT intervention. This reduces the administrative load on company staff and ensures users can keep their corporate profiles up to date.What reporting capabilities does Micro Focus Identity Governance offer?
The solution includes Identity Reporting and Identity Intelligence modules that provide predefined report definitions and the option to import custom reports. These modules help in analyzing IGA processes, detecting process violations, preparing for audits, and fine-tuning IGA processes.Is the solution localized for different regions?
Yes, the solution offers localized user interfaces for many of its products. For example, several components of NetIQ Identity Manager are available in Russian, and other localizations may also be available depending on the region. Micro Focus Identity Governance - Conclusion and Recommendation
Final Assessment of Micro Focus Identity Governance
Micro Focus Identity Governance, now part of OpenText, is a comprehensive identity governance and administration (IGA) solution that offers a range of benefits and features, particularly in the security tools and AI-driven product category.Key Features and Benefits
- Access Certification and Compliance: This solution helps organizations run effective access certification campaigns and ensures compliance with industry regulations. It automates user access reviews and recertification, reducing the risk of compliance violations and data breaches.
- Real-Time Adaptive Governance: It enables continuous risk reduction through real-time adaptive governance, allowing for better access decisions based on business insights and dynamic risk assessments.
- Data Collection and Analytics: The system collects and reviews entitlement data across the infrastructure, leveraging analytics and role mining to identify commonalities and define controls to detect and handle violations and exceptions.
- Automation and Efficiency: It replaces manual, error-prone processes with automated solutions, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing the cost and risk associated with data breaches.
Who Would Benefit Most
This solution is particularly beneficial for organizations that need to manage user access and compliance across various systems and data repositories. Here are some key beneficiaries:- Large Enterprises: Companies with extensive user bases and complex IT infrastructures can significantly benefit from the automated access certification and compliance features.
- Regulated Industries: Organizations in industries with strict compliance requirements, such as finance, healthcare, and government, can use this solution to ensure they meet all regulatory standards.
- IT and Security Teams: These teams can streamline their processes, reduce manual errors, and focus on higher-value tasks while ensuring the security and compliance of their systems.
Overall Recommendation
Micro Focus Identity Governance is a strong choice for any organization looking to enhance its identity management practices, ensure compliance, and mitigate security risks. Here are some reasons why:- Comprehensive Solution: It integrates identity governance and identity management seamlessly, providing a holistic approach to managing access permissions and compliance.
- Flexibility: The solution can be deployed on-premises or via SaaS, offering flexibility in deployment options to suit different organizational needs.
- Risk Management: With its real-time adaptive governance and integrated risk scoring, it helps organizations dynamically evaluate and prioritize access risks, ensuring continuous risk reduction.