Simplifying/Consolidating versus Managing

I brought up the concept of simplification versus managing your identity problems in my white papers "Tenets of Identity Management". Aberdeen has published a white paper titled "Dealing with Directories: Fewer Fuels Faster and More Efficient Operations" that you should take a look at. The salient, highlight worthy points...

• Best in Class companies have a factor of 1.9X fewer total directories (16) than the Industry Average (31)
• Best in Class companies are 2.4X more likely to have consolidated to a single directory (19%) than the Industry Average (8%)
• Best in Class companies are 1.9X more likely than the Industry Average to synchronize directories completely … or through consolidation, not at

Here's the statistic that I like the most:

• Best in Class companies reported an average of 16 separate directories, compared to 31 for the Industry Average

That's a 50% reduction in the number of directories between the average and best in class companies. Can you imagine how much easier the identity management problem is at the company with 50% less directories to manage?

For those companies who choose to consolidate around a single directory, consolidation around Active Directory (AD) is consistent with the dominance of Windows in server operating systems. In the 2007 Aberdeen Report (May 2007), approximately 90% of all companies reported that Microsoft was the leading server operating system. At the same time, Linux and leading flavors of Unix from IBM, HP and Sun also have a significant footprint. Even in an AD-centric environment, the material presence of Unix and Linux in companies of all sizes requires companies to develop explicit strategies for integration of non-Windows systems as well.

Their conclusion - which I, of course, agree with...

Companies that effectively address these issues and streamline management of their identity directories position themselves to reap the operational and security benefits of more effective user provisioning and de-provisioning.

Interesting sidenote - This paper was authored by Derek Brink. I knew Derek when he was at RSA and we were both involved in the PKI Forum. It's great to see him over at Aberdeen. He's a wealth of knowledge.

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identity management, Active Directory, Microsoft

Active Directory Management Made Easy with PowerShell

If you have an interest in Microsoft's PowerShell technology you might want to listen in to our webcast on this topic - just click on the link directly below to register...

Webcast: Active Directory Management Made Easy with PowerShell

When: Thursday, July 12, 2007 - 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT

In this session, we will talk about using Windows PowerShell to manage Active Directory. We'll cover different approaches ranging from ADSI to AD cmdlets, and demo the features that are backwards-compatible with Windows 2000/2003 and the ones unique to Windows Server 2008 (e.g. Server Core and Read Only Domain Controller).

In the first half of the session, we will also highlight how you can customize and extend provisioning with Quest ActiveRoles Server through PowerShell. In the second half of the session, we’ll demo how you can use PowerGUI to build custom administrative consoles for PowerShell enabled systems, such as Active Directory, IIS, Exchange and Operations Manager.

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Quest Software, PowerShell, Microsoft

Lake Union Fireworks

My friends at "Catering As You Like It" invited me to take photos from the top of the Swedish Cultural Center on the west side of Lake Union. I took over 475 shots and uploaded what I thought the best ones were to Picasa. Feel free to take a look...

4th of July Fireworks - Lake Union

Shake up in the SMS/MOM division at MS?

Interesting story over at eWeek - Microsoft's Ailing MBS Group Gets New Leader. Kirill Tatarinov the VP of the Windows Enterprise Management Division (WEMD) aka SMS & MOM is moving over to Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) aka Great Plains.

The MBS group has gone through a series of VPs over the last while. MBS was initially headed by Doug Burgum.

Burgum announced in September 2005 that he would step down the following November as the head of the MBS group, which had been steadily losing money.

In the summer of 2006 the MBS group was transitioned to the larger Microsoft Business Division that encompasses Microsoft Office, SharePoint Server and Microsoft unified communications products. The move was made to help align Microsoft's business applications group with the rest of the company.

Finally, in September 2006, Satya Nadella was named to the top spot in the MBS division—a job he held for all of six months until he was transferred over to head the newly created Search and Ad Platform group.

Microsoft then named Tami Reller, corporate vice president of MBS at the time, as the interim leader of the business applications division. The plan was that Reller would work with Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division, to find a new leader for the MBS group.

It is rumored, however, that Reller was bucking to maintain the top spot in the MBS group, and that she has been passed over in favor of Tatarinov.

Kirill is a dyed-in-the-wool systems management guy that came from BMC so this is a bit of a surprise. I'm not sure if it means he's being rewarded or being handed a boat anchor - I guess time will tell.

In the meantime, I'm hoping the change at the top of the WEMD group will lead to some windows being opened and some fresh air to be let in and some hot air to be let out...

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Microsoft