Identity Management Added to Forefront

The next version of Identity Lifecycle Manager (ILM) 2007, Microsoft’s product for managing identity data and credentials (such as user names and passwords), was released in Mar. 2010. Renamed Forefront Identity Manager 2010, the application adds new workflow features, improved certificate management, and a self-service portal so users can handle identity activities such as password resets, which can reduce help desk calls. However, Identity Manager 2010 is a complex product to deploy, especially since it may require upgrading servers to x64 editions of software, and it cannot coexist with ILM 2007.

Identity Management Tasks

Identity Manager creates and maintains user identity data, such as user names, passwords, group memberships, and addresses, across all applications and OS services that use the data. It can simplify maintenance of identity data and credentials, provide a unified view of all identity information, and reduce the probability of errors that lock users out of systems or leave systems at risk after changes such as employee terminations and transfers. It also provides a front end to Windows Server Certificate Services for all digital certificate and smart card management functions.