Remote workspaces have been prevalent since the pandemic because of the need for social distancing.
However, that meant companies had to provide their employees with the necessary devices. That way, each employee can set up their workspace at home and accomplish their daily tasks.
We live in a data-driven business environment so it’s important for employees to be given a device. This empowers them while working remotely because they’re able to actively participate outside of the office. They’re delegated tasks and responsibilities while working with a diverse team. This is especially true if the company outsources its employees, having workers from all walks of life.
The process we just described is called “provisioning” which is usually done during the onboarding process. User Provisioning can be done for internal customers or employees just like Customer Relationship automation or CRM automation as it is popularly known. We’ll discuss more about it below, such as defining automated user provisioning. We’ll also talk about ways to implement user provisioning in your organization for easier remote setup.
What Is Automated User Provisioning?
It’s the process of creating, maintaining, and updating a user’s account and access to many applications.
This involves their access to the company’s system whether they’re on-site or remote. It can be a mix of on-premise and cloud-based applications and systems as well. Automated user provisioning avails important employee information to grant the required permissions. This will allow them to do their job more smoothly no matter where they are.
User provisioning happens when new information is added or updated to the system database. This is why it’s so common during onboarding processes because that’s when the HR database is updated. When that happens, the IT team makes new accounts that have relevant access permissions.
Over the course of their career, the account gets modified when they get promotions or re-assigned departments.
The IT team is also responsible for terminating your account when you leave the company. That is called “deprovisioning” and it still falls under user provisioning. It happens when you get transferred internally, other than exiting the company for good. This means you won’t have access to any of your previous files and applications.
How to Implement Automated User Provisioning?
- Evaluate Your Identity and Access Management Program
The first step to a fast way to implement automated user provisioning is to analyze your IAM program. For example, check what your IAM program’s maturity level is. And how does your team see and associate their responsibilities with user provisioning?
By looking from a different perspective, you’d have a deeper understanding of the system. It can give you inspiring ideas on how to implement automated user provisioning.
The next step is to scrutinize your business’s processes and find the gaps you need to fill. User provisioning is a whole lifecycle of creating, managing, disabling, and deleting user accounts.
You need to take feedback and analyze how the IAM programs help your users. Does it scale up their productivity and efficiency at work or not? What other aspects of the process can you improve to help your employees?
You can check existing technology to support your IAM program from a security standpoint. We recommend building a business case to implement new user provisioning solutions. You’ll need to ask for a budget to do it so a strong business case will help you achieve that.
- Look for the Most Important Applications for Your Tech stack
Keep in mind that your business case should align with your company’s standards. After which, you need to create an inventory of applications for your tech stack.
Feel free to collaborate with a cybersecurity expert to identify the critical applications you need. This is especially important because some applications may collapse the security construct. That will lead to data breaches and potential hacking that could compromise your company.
You need to define the scope of your program and the timeline to do all of these things. We suggest placing a success metric, like time savings or cost-saving metrics, to track its time frame. That way, you’ll see the benefits and challenges of implementing the pilot program. Then, you can train others later once it’s been fully implemented.
- Implement Your User Provisioning Solutions
There are certain factors you need to consider if you want to implement automated user provisioning. One of those is the access standards and process for your current users. This whole process will revamp your existing business processes for better results. That’s why you should map out the process of creating, managing, and monitoring accounts.
Another factor is the participation of end users in reviewing the new system implementation. In user provisioning systems, the end users are the security team, IT administrators, and customer support. It’s only customary that you inform them about the new business process so they’ll be aware of it. They should also be properly trained on how to use it so they can teach others within their department later on.
Resource planning is a key part of implementing user provisioning solutions. That’s why you need professionals to be the project manager, analyst, and technical lead. You’ll also need system and database administrators, and an HR analyst.
Once you deploy the solution, prepare a checklist that outlines all the tasks required by the company. Make sure to hold status meetings to make sure everything is proceeding as scheduled. After the new solution has been adopted, it’s time to slowly retire the old system. After all, you can only say the new system is a success if your employees are using it.
Conclusion
Whenever someone is onboarded, they get assigned to a workspace with all the tools they need. If they’re working remotely, the company sends the laptop or PC to their home so they can set up. They’re also given access to software and other tools needed to get their job done. This process is called automated user provisioning and is usually handled by the IT team.
Implementing it sounds simple on paper but there are several things to consider when doing so. You need to evaluate the IAM program and see what you need to improve in the current system. You also need to work with your security department to ensure the applications are safe for your system. Upon the implementation process, you need to consider factors like resources and input from the end users. But once all has been settled, it’s time to usher in the new system and introduce it to your employees!
