Novell Gives Enterprises the Power to Manage their User Identities

Novell today announced the immediate availability of Novell® Nsure™ Identity Manager 2, which streamlines an organization's user administration processes to reduce management costs, increase productivity and security and support compliance with industry regulations. With Nsure Identity Manager 2, customers can implement a fully integrated identity management solution, rather than standalone provisioning, password management or metadirectory products, to assimilate identities from across all connected systems.

Novell Nsure Identity Manager, formerly Novell DirXML®, uniquely leverages the efficiency of an organization's distributed user administration processes in that IT administrators can designate any connected resource as the authoritative source for any identity attribute such as name, e-mail address or password. For example, end users can be given self-service capabilities to manage their passwords, the e-mail administrator can be given responsibility for e-mail addresses and access to applications can remain centrally managed by the IT administrator. Changes made by the authoritative source for each attribute are then synchronized across all locations and systems.

"We're seeing increased demand from our clients for a solution that securely opens up their resources to employees and partners," said Dave Arnold, systems consultant at Alphanumeric Systems, a Novell Platinum Partner. "Nsure Identity Manager gives them the confidence to do so by organizing the user accounts in their applications and databases so they can manage access based on the user's relationship with the organization. With the addition of password self-service, improved password policies and reporting features, Novell continues to be the leader in identity management."

Novell Nsure Identity Manager allows companies to manage user access, profile information and passwords throughout the complete user lifecycle based on established business rules. New users are immediately productive with access to business resources on the first day of their relationship with the organization, and access privileges and profile information are quickly updated upon any changes in their status, such as a promotion, new project or change in responsibility. Organizations can also immediately terminate all access privileges and business-related accounts, such as cell phones or Internet access, upon the conclusion of a business relationship, precluding security risks and additional expenses due to lingering access rights.

Burton Group analyst Gerry Gebel, said, "Novell has provided additional capabilities to its existing DirXML product and has positioned itself as a leader in metadirectory-based provisioning solutions. Novell Nsure Identity Manager offers a logical migration path for existing eDirectory™ and DirXML customers, and its features and capabilities will also benefit non-Novell customers."

New Features in Novell Nsure Identity Manager
Enhancements in Novell Nsure Identity Manager 2 help customers reduce the cost of managing access to applications and data, cut down the number of password-related calls to the help desk and increase the security of their enterprise resources.

• Simplified configuration - Browser-based, point-and-click configuration of rules and policies for both common and in-depth tasks.

• Self-service password management - Organizations can establish control over passwords throughout the applications and identity stores that power their business. For example, administrators can define central password policies to be applied throughout their system, and end users can reset forgotten passwords themselves, which are then synchronized across connected systems, without going through the help desk.

• Role-based administration - IT administrators can define access privileges based on a user's role or relationship with the organization and according to established business rules. Access rights are automatically updated whenever a user's role changes.

• Monitoring and reporting - Track and monitor security-related activity in internal systems and applications and generate reports or real-time notifications.

"With all the dynamics a company experiences today such as employee turnover, new partnerships, government regulations and mergers and acquisitions, it is imperative for CIOs to manage and provision their users' identities in order to maintain security and ensure productivity," said Chris Stone, Novell vice chairman - Office of the CEO. "Novell Nsure Identity Manager provides customers an integrated identity management solution that enables them to securely extend resources to internal and external users while lowering administrative costs."

Foundation for Novell Nsure Solutions
Novell Nsure Identity Manager is a key component of Novell Nsure secure identity management solutions, which enable enterprises to efficiently and securely deliver the right resources to the right people - anytime, anywhere. The solutions combine Novell products with Novell and partner services to solve specific business challenges. In particular, the Novell Nsure identity integration solution enables customers to gain control of identity as a foundation for other identity-driven business initiatives such as regulatory compliance, role-based enterprise dashboards and portals, IT charge-back and dynamic Web services. And, the Novell Nsure password management solutions address the full range of password initiatives, securing passwords inside and outside the organization.

Pricing and Availability
Novell Nsure Identity Manager is now available on Linux*, Windows*, NetWare® and Solaris* at both per server and per user pricing through Novell channel partners. Details can be found at http://www.novell.com/products/nsureidentitymanager/pricing.html. For more information on Nsure Identity Manager, go to www.microfocus.com/en-us/solutions/identity-access-management.