Identity Manager from NetIQ provides tools for managing the entire user identity lifecycle - from on-boarding through deletion and everything in-between. This product helps administrators automate user identity provisioning and access management, ensuring all users have one identity across all the platforms throughout the enterprise environment. This provisioning extends across not only the physical network, but also to virtual networks and cloud systems.
We found this solution to be easy to install and configure. The Identity Manager is comprised of several components that can be installed separately on several different servers or as part of an integrated single install. The initial installation was straightforward. It only took a few minutes until we were up and running. Once the install process is complete, all management is done via the iManager management console. Overall, we found this product to be easy to deploy and configure.
From a user management standpoint, this tool features clean dashboards via a web GUI that can be accessed by managers and HR personnel for user provisioning, as well as users themselves for password and account management functions, including the ability to request access to resources on a temporary or ongoing basis. This tool also provides a great deal of automated provisioning and de-provisioning functions and - through the use of many native and custom application and platform connectors - can use company-configured policies to distribute user access changes throughout the entire physical, virtual and cloud-based environment. Identity Manager comes preloaded with connectors for Active Directory and eDirectory, Microsoft Exchange, Novell GroupWise and Lotus Notes for easy integration in any enterprise right out of the box. Customers looking to expand Identity Manager's capabilities can integrate it into a NetIQ Sentinel or Change Guardian deployment for SIEM capabilities.
Documentation included installation, user and supplemental guides in PDF format. We found these to include a good amount of detail and step-by-step installation and configuration instructions. While we did find the user and other guides to be quite detailed with many screen shots and configuration examples, we did find the installation guide to be less detailed with little information on deploying the product on a Windows-based server.
NetIQ offers standard and priority support and maintenance options through the purchase of an annual plan. Customers get access to various levels of phone- and email-based technical assistance, as well as additional services based on support level. NetIQ also offers an on-demand option in which customers can work directly with a remote consultant for planning and configuration help. All customers also get no-cost access to an online area that includes product documentation, a user forum and a knowledge base, among other resources.
At a price starting at $29 per user, we find this product to be a reasonable value for the money. While that starting price may seem high on the surface, we find this offering to incorporate many excellent user management and provisioning automation functionality that can be easily deployed throughout the entire enterprise environment. It is Identity Manager's integration capabilities that really provide value to this product.
