UnboundID, a leading provider of identity data solutions for cloud, telco, and enterprise computing, today released the industry’s first commercially available products based on the Simple Cloud Identity Management (SCIM) standard. By supporting SCIM, UnboundID can provide a standardized and simpler solution for organizations provisioning and managing user identities across multiple cloud-based services, including IaaS, PaaS and SaaS offerings.
UnboundID’s SCIM-enabled directory server enables developers to build scalable and secure directory applications using simple, REST-based interfaces. In addition, UnboundID announced that it will release an extension to its Synchronization Server that makes it possible to synchronize identity data from existing data stores—such as Active Directory, LDAP and relational databases—to SCIM-enabled cloud applications, like SalesForce.com. By supporting SCIM-enabled data stores as a destination for its Synchronization Server, UnboundID has delivered a complete solution for integrating identity data from on-premise data stores with SCIM-enabled cloud-based services.
The SCIM working group, which includes Cisco, Google, Ping Identity, SailPoint, TechnologyNexus, Salesforce.com, and UnboundID, gathered at the Internet Identity Workshop in October to continue their work in finalizing the initial version of the specification. The SCIM 1.0 specification was approved by the working group and released publicly December, 30 2011. UnboundID is the first vendor to release an end-to-end suite of products based on the SCIM specification. Other members are “SCIM-enabling” their products and services further solidifying SCIM’s position as the go-to standard for identity provisioning in the cloud.
With its product announcements today, UnboundID is positioned to provide solutions for both sides of the cloud identity integration problem. This includes a solution for synchronizing data from on-premise identity data stores to the cloud and a high-scale identity data store that supports a RESTful, standards-based interface for cloud service providers.
“Until now, provisioning for cloud-based services has largely involved synchronization of user accounts across an on-premises authoritative store and a SaaS application user store via proprietary ‘glue,’” said Steve Coplan, senior analyst within The 451 Group’s enterprise security practice. “UnboundID’s support of the SCIM specification in its new products enables organizations to take advantage of the benefits of a protocol designed to reduce duplicative, one-off integrations and leverage a consolidated data store to automate the provisioning process. As adoption of SaaS applications within organizations extends beyond a single, monolithic application, organizations require a centralized and data-driven approach to managing authorization to a new class of applications. With the integration of SCIM, UnboundID has taken a step in the direction of providing the underlying data and attribute store to support that transition to cloud identity catalyzed by shifts in the IT consumption model,” Coplan said.
Said UnboundID Chief Product Officer Andy Spillane: “By contributing to the development of the SCIM specification as a founding member of the working group, to being the first company to release an SDK for developing applications with SCIM, to delivering the first commercially available solution for sending and receiving identity data via SCIM, UnboundID has proven its commitment to delivering real-time identity management software for cloud, mobile and social applications. We believe we are well positioned not only to support the adoption of SCIM, but to help drive the path of adoption as well.”