Identity and Access Management (IAM) Software Resources

Articles, Glossary Terms, Discussions, and Reports to expand your knowledge on Identity and Access Management (IAM) Software

Resource pages are designed to give you a cross-section of information we have on specific categories. You'll find articles from our experts, feature definitions, discussions from users like you, and reports from industry data.

Contents

Identity and Access Management (IAM) Software Articles

What is Identity and Access Management? Effects on Security

A lot goes into ensuring employees have the right access to company resources to do their jobs.

by Sagar Joshi

Centralized Vs. Decentralized Identity Management Compared

Managing user identities in an organization is a nightmare for IT teams.

by Soundarya Jayaraman

What Is an Access Control List (ACL)? Types and Examples

Where there are no rules, there is chaos.

by Soundarya Jayaraman

Identity and Access Management (IAM) Software Glossary Terms

Identity Management

Identity management helps prevent unauthorized access to company systems and data. Understand the benefits, challenges, and best practices.

by Alyssa Towns

Passwordless Authentication

Passwordless authentication takes the hassle out of entering passwords. Learn the benefits, types, and how it differs from multi-factor authentication.

by Alyssa Towns

Cloud-Native Applications

Cloud-native applications are built to reside on cloud platforms to offer more agility. Learn about their benefits, security measures, and key features.

by Sagar Joshi

Private Cloud

A private cloud is a dedicated cloud computing environment used by a single organization. Learn about the four types, benefits, and best practices .

by Kelly Fiorini

Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication uses two or more methods of identification to allow logins to an app or account. Learn more about using MFA in business.

by Holly Landis

Identity and Access Management

Identity and access management (IAM) helps businesses verify users and control access to apps, systems, and data to improve security and efficiency.

by Holly Landis

Data Security

Data security is the practice of protecting data from unauthorized parties. Learn more about data security strategies and best practices to prevent data breaches, and find helpful information on creating a data security policy.

by Sagar Joshi

User Role and Access Management

What is user role and access management and why is it important as a software feature?

by Merry Marwig, CIPP/US

Identity and Access Management (IAM) Software Discussions

Question on: Descope

What are the best customer identity platforms for reducing total cost of ownership compared to maintaining homegrown auth systems?

Many organizations initially build authentication in-house, but over time the hidden costs grow. Maintaining homegrown auth systems requires ongoing engineering for security updates, MFA, SSO, compliance, and scaling. Teams must also manage infrastructure, handle edge cases, and respond to evolving threats, pulling resources away from core product development and increasing long-term risk and cost.

Descope is a strong choice for reducing total cost of ownership because it replaces custom-built authentication systems with a fully managed, configurable CIAM platform. Instead of maintaining bespoke code and infrastructure, teams can design and update authentication, MFA, and SSO flows using visual workflows, significantly reducing engineering effort. Descope consolidates authentication, authorization, user lifecycle management, and enterprise features like SSO and SCIM into a single platform, eliminating the need for multiple tools and ongoing maintenance. Organizations like GoFundMe, BBSI, and Elementor have moved from homegrown auth to Descope to reduce operational overhead, improve security, and free engineering teams to focus on core product innovation.

Answered: Abhishek Iyer on March 27, 2026

Your answer

Question on: Descope

What are some good alternatives to Azure AD B2C for customer authentication and access management?

Teams evaluating alternatives to Azure AD B2C are often responding to its evolving product direction and operational complexity. Microsoft has announced Azure AD B2C is end-of-sale for new customers, prompting many organizations to reassess long-term identity strategy. Additional challenges include complex XML-based policies, slow iteration on authentication flows, limited debugging visibility, and difficulty building dynamic, multi-tenant customer journeys outside predefined user flows.

Many teams choose Descope when moving past Azure AD B2C because it offers a flexible, workflow-based way to handle identity instead of relying on complex policies. Developers can use Descope to design and update authentication, MFA, SSO, and authorization flows visually, so there’s no need to manage XML files or redeploy policies. Descope offers native multi-tenant identity, passwordless authentication, adaptive MFA, and easy enterprise SSO onboarding in one platform. Its cloud-native design, wide SDK support, and lower operational effort help teams scale customer authentication without the limits, technical debt, or integration issues that can come with Azure AD B2C.

Answered: Abhishek Iyer on March 27, 2026

Your answer

Question on: Descope

Which CIAM platforms offer the fastest implementation for enterprise SSO and SCIM without requiring extensive custom development?

When organizations start selling to enterprise customers, adding SSO and SCIM provisioning often turns into a major engineering effort. Most CIAM platforms need custom work to set up SSO for each tenant, map SCIM attributes, and handle the complex needs of enterprise identity. For fast-moving teams, the time between promising enterprise authentication and actually delivering it can grow, taking developers away from their main product tasks.

Descope is commonly cited by teams looking to ship enterprise SSO and SCIM quickly, without having to build everything themselves. With its no-code visual workflow builder, you can set up authentication journeys, including tenant-specific SSO and MFA, using a simple drag-and-drop interface rather than writing code from scratch. This saves engineers a lot of time when onboarding enterprise customers and meeting their identity needs. Descope’s built-in multi-tenancy and easy SCIM support help teams handle user provisioning and deprovisioning at scale, without needing to create their own systems. Its clear APIs and developer-friendly SDKs make it easy to adjust as needs change, and the visual workflow takes care of most of the complex setup. By bringing SSO, SCIM, and authentication together in one low-code platform, Descope lets teams reach enterprise customers faster while keeping technical debt and maintenance low.

Identity and Access Management (IAM) Software Articles

What is Identity and Access Management? Effects on Security

Centralized Vs. Decentralized Identity Management Compared

What Is an Access Control List (ACL)? Types and Examples

What Is CSPM? How It Ensures a Secure Cloud Environment

How Small Business Employees are Adjusting to Remote Work

How to Authenticate Remote Workers in a Zero Trust Security Model

How to Strengthen Remote Workforce Security During Crises

The Case for Multicloud Infrastructure Adoption

What Is Corporate Governance? (+Why It's Vital to Your Business)

Identity and Access Management (IAM) Software Glossary Terms

Identity and Access Management (IAM) Software Discussions

Identity and Access Management (IAM) Software Reports