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Identification as a Service (IDaaS)

Identification as a Service (IDaaS): Challenges and Solutions

Mahesh Javaraiah

University of the Cumberland's

Cloud Computing

ITS-532-M80

Dr Barcus Jackson

May 29 2024
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Identification as a Service (IDaaS)

I. Introduction
Identity management refers to the policies and practices for user accounts and

assurance that the particular user is granted access to particular resources. Identity

management is quite crucial and sensitive chiefly because of the rising threats from

cybercriminals and customers’ demands to regulate their data. Identity as a Service (IDaaS) is

an innovation that helps in the administration of users’ identity by hosting on the cloud which

makes this solution to be flexible and offer improved securities (Rupa et al. , 2020). The

purpose of this paper is three folds: first, to describe the concept of IDaaS, second, to

examine the best practices for identity management and, third, to analyse the provided

solutions of various companies on the topic of this paper that will enable the reader to

understand how IDaaS can help to overcome the challenges of identity management.

II. Understanding Identification as a Service (IDaaS)

sIDaaS also known as Identity as a Service is a solution that focuses in the identity

and access management of a user across the applications in an organization. IDaaS enhances

the delivery of identity management as it can be administered from one place for users’

authentication, authorization, and other aspects. It works by providing an on-premises and

cloud applications integration, which enables users to gain access to appropriate resources

readily and securely on the cloud infrastructure (Gomaa et al. , 2019). Some of the

fundamental aspects of IDaaS are identity repositories, methods of authentication, and access

control policies that are used to provide a secure method of identity management that is also

efficient.

There are many advantages of IDaaS and the first one would be the issue of cost

savings. In the following points, some benefits which organizations can have by

implementing an IDaaS Include:Such a transition to the cloud reduces requirements for large
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capital expenditures on equipment and software (Gomaa et al. , 2019). Moreover, IDaaS has

flexibility meaning that the identity management can be easily scaled to meet the changing

needs of different users within the organization. It is very useful for organizations especially

those that are growing, or those that experience changes in the number of users in their

networks. Another advantage that comes with the selective use of IDaaS is that IDaaS

providers integrate advanced security features such as MFA and AES encryption to secure

the users’ identities and information. These benefits accrue to make the identity management

process more effective and secure for organisations.

III. Challenges Related to Identity Management

Challenges of identity management include security issues and compliance where

there are likely to arise issues on the privacy of workers, the systems, and the business as a

whole. This is still a real issue in which companies experience losses to a degree that exposes

user data to wrong hands. Because of that, such breaches can cause a lack of trust from the

users, or the company’s financial losses. The threat from phishing also remains high because

attackers take advantage of users to unlock their account, which can result in unauthorized

access in system and data (Rupa et al. , 2020). Furthermore, enterprises face intricate

compliance and regulatory challenges like GDPR, CCPA or any other regulatory compliances

of the organization’s jurisdiction. These regulations impose stiff measures for data protection

and also penalize companies that FAIL to conform, making identity management even more

challenging.

Other issues of identity management include how IAM integrates with other systems.

Heterogeneous environment is a common picture for many organizations, and smooth

integration becomes a challenge when some of the apps are old versions. It implies that

integrated solutions for identity management must seamlessly interface with infrastructure
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(Walker & Montgomery, 2016). However, there is should also be focus on the ease of use

and accessibility since identity management systems should be easily accessible to the

ordinary user including those with impaired vision. Attempts are made to avoid the design of

failed systems which simply repeat failed systems and cause frustration and reduced

productivity. Thus, it is crucial to create the identity management solutions as user-friendly

and being easily comprehensible, still in the same time efficient and safe as per the

requirements of the companies and governmental authorities.

IV. IDaaS Solutions Offered by Various Companies

Some of the critical and unique features of Identification as a Service (IDaaS) include

identity management for cloud and on-premise environments, governance, lifecycle

management, social identity management, analytics, and more. Recent industry leaders in this

area include Microsoft Azure AD; Okta Identity Cloud; Auth0; and IBM Security Verify.

These providers offer end-to-end functionality for identification, issuing access rights, and

account control, and are compatible to fit into different applications and structures. With

cloud infrastructure, they improve security, flexibility and compliance to relation as well the

various obstacles regarding to identity management (Rupa et al. , 2020). Accounting for

similarities in theories, each provider provides specific benefits for adopting governance and

true implementation examples that show the impact of principles.

Microsoft Azure Active Directory

Microsoft Azure Active Directory provides key features such as multifactor

authentication, Single Sign-On and conditional access. It connects with thousands of on-

premises as well as cloud applications whereby it provides great identity and access controls.

Under advanced threat protection, Azure AD helps in protecting organizations from

malicious intents while granting users’ access to Azure AD also minimizes the time that
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Identification as a Service (IDaaS)

administrators spend on managing users’ access. It also enables the compliance with various

data protection standards, and conforms to standards of regulations (Gomaa et al. , 2019). The

company such as ASOS implement Azure AD and utilized it to control employee privilege to

crucial business application in a secured and effective manner. Through integrating SSO

features of Azure AD, they are increasing user’s satisfaction while equally ensuring security

of their accounts.

Okta Identity Cloud

Below are the features available within Okta Identity Cloud; AMMFA, Lifecycle

Management, and API access control. Its platform is compatible with a variety of

applications which make it comprehendible for easy integration. Okta’s adaptive MFA brings

in the concept of checking the user context and beginning the MFA in the most relevant level

of complexity. The fourth kind of IT consumption is about Identity and Access Management

that provides the lifecycle management of user accounts, ensuring user’s provision and

deprovision in the platform minimizes errors due to manual intervention (Yao et al. , 2019).

Large organizations such as Adobe leverage Okta to manage user identity in and across

applications as well as across various applications in the organization. Okta also provides

matured API access management to handle securely API integrations and third-party

participation.

Auth0
Auth0 is a provider of Identity management solutions that can be customized such as

social login, two-factor authentication, and Passwordless login. One feature is the rich

coverage of SDKs and APIs for easy integration into applications. Auth0 can also improve

user experience through allowing multiple authentication schemes and supports developer

experience with well-documented APIs and developer-friendly functionalities. Security

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measure help it to counter act for identity threats that are common (Rupa et al. , 2020). Some

of the common applications of Auth0 in digital content companies are detailed below

Organisations such as HarperCollins employs the use of Auth0 as the authentication tool or

the means through which they can control user access to content on their various platforms.

The usage of social logins which are provided nowadays by Auth0 become much easier for

the people with different levels of computer literacy.

IBM Security Verify

Working on IBM Technology and Cloud Services, IBM Security Verify delivers

Identity and Access Management using artificial intelligence on risk-based authentication,

single sign, and users’ lifecycle. This is because it can integrate with all cloud and various

other On-Premises applications. Through the use of Artificial Intelligence, IBM’s method of

data threat detection and defense also real-time security. The platform’s complete

identification makes users more efficient than ever and in compliance (Gomaa et al. , 2019).

Implementation Examples: Anthem is among the many organizations that deploy IBM

Security Verify since it improves security and simplifies entrants. This is due to the benefit of

IBM’s risk-based authentication that Readand is capable of providing adequate security

measures against intrusions as well as sufficient convenience for users.

V. Comparative Analysis of IDaaS Solutions

Feature Comparison
Key factors that distinguish different IDaaS solutions are the diverse features they can

provide, which is essential to consider when choosing the right provider. Out of all the Azure

features, Microsoft Azure Active Directory focuses on Microsoft products, has Multi-Factor

Authentication and Conditional Access Policies. Okta Identity Cloud has effective

management of user lifecycle and strong adaptive MFA for various applications (Yao et al. ,
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2019). This is due to the fact that Auth0 offers their customers customizable features ranging

from its authentication to their additional SDKs appealing to developers. Risk-based

authentication is the use of artificial intelligence in the new IBM Security Verify’s defense

mechanisms. This means that each provider stands out in the aspects in which organizational

needs are most important; hence the use case and integration criterion is what defines the

choice.

Cost Comparison
Cost models vary depending on many factors, such as the provider of the IDaaS

service and the type and scale of the deployed service. Pricing is another area for which

Microsoft Azure Active Directory provides different plans for businesses, where they have a

Basic, a Premium P1, and Premium P2 plans depending on the size and the requirements of

the business (Yao et al. , 2019). Okta has a user-based model to its price, with extra fees to

other features such as API access. The author explained that Auth0’s business model is

freemium, meaning that core software capabilities are free, while more advanced features

come for a price. Like any other security product, IBM Security Verify has a tiered pricing

model which focuses on providing premium enterprise security solutions. To determine

optimum solutions, business needs to weigh these costs against the budget and the features

necessary for operation.

Performance and User Feedback

User feedback and IDaaS solution performance are valuable measures when

comparing IDaaS tools. Extensive research shows that Microsoft Azure AD has a high

affinity when it comes to compatibility with Microsoft solution ecosystems and performance

(Yao et al. , 2019). The positive feedback received for Okta includes the user user interface as

well as the customer support for easy deployment and usage. Currently, Auth0 has been
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regarded as a development-oriented platform since developers appreciate it for its flexibility

and the integration process; Still, there are some complaints about the lack of comprehensive

documentation. IBM Security Verify stands out for its security solutions, as well as its AI

capabilities in threat identification and prevention, even if its infrastructure might be more

challenging to manage for organizations with fewer employees. These insights can assist the

future users to determine which IDaaS provider has advantages over another and which

disadvantages they have to cope with.

VI. Future Trends and Developments in IdaaS

The IDaaS market has been significantly impacted by the use of Artificial Intelligence

and Machine learning technologies. These technologies allow preserving the situation by

considering changes that occurred in the analyzed systems and minimizing the number of

false positives that serve as key instruments in threat protection. Machine learning makes it

easier to analyze and understand users’ behaviors hence enhances the adaptive authentication

and the general user experience interface (Rupa et al. , 2020). Another trend that has appeared

recently is the use of blockchain technology that provides an opportunity to implement

decentralized and protected identity verification. It’ll also means that through the use of

blockchain IDaaS can provide a more private and secure approach to overcoming its need for

a centralized identity provider. Such technologies may help to reconfigure the drive towards

identity management and make the process more secure as well as efficient.

AI and blockchain are two areas with high potential for identity management in the

future as the technological development of both of them is very promising generally. The

focus will remain on the ease of the user experience and strong protection. Biometric

authentication and Decentralized identity solutions will become part of the organizational

system. In future, due to changing scenario of regulations, IDaaS providers will have to come
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up with more flexible yet conformable solutions satisfying global regulations (Gomaa et al. ,

2019). While the general trend of the transition to passwordless solutions has been on the rise

and with the invention of Internet of Things, it is clear that identity management will go

through more changes in terms of the complexity of the identity management system and how

scalable they are. In conclusion, the prospects of IDaaS market appear to be rather stable,

with innovations being approached differently constantly to increase the security,

compliance, and ease of use.

VII. Conclusion
Therefore, it is possible to note that IDaaS solutions are the crucial components of

contemporary identity management by providing the opportunity to save costs, become

scalable, as well as improve the level of security. Some of the include features and advantage

offered by the top vendors in the IDaaS market such as Azure Active Directory, Okta, Auth0,

IBM Security Verify among others. In deciding the necessary IDaaS solution, the needs of

the organization should be met and regulatory compliance should be considered (Rupa et al. ,

2020). More innovations in the field of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and

Blockchain are expected in the future, where the more advanced advancements in Identity as

a Service (IDaaS) can be explored in terms of effectiveness of security and enhanced or

improved usability (Gomaa et al. , 2019). Thereby, organizations should remain informed and

able to adjust in order to benefit from these innovations sufficiently.

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References
Gomaa, I., Abd-Elrahman, E., Saad, E., & Ksentini, A. (2019). Virtual identity performance

evaluations of anonymous authentication in IDaaS framework. IEEE Access, 7,

34541-34554. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2904854

Rupa, C., Patan, R., Al-Turjman, F., & Mostarda, L. (2020). Enhancing the access privacy of

IDaaS system using SAML protocol in fog computing. IEEE Access, 8, 168793-

168801. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3022957

Yao, Y., Chang, X., Mišić, J., & Mišić, V. B. (2019). Lightweight and privacy-preserving ID-

as-a-service provisioning in vehicular cloud computing. IEEE Transactions on

Vehicular Technology, 69(2), 2185-2194. https://doi.org/10.1109/TVT.2019.2960831