Microsoft Identity Integration Server 2003 released to manufacturing

Microsoft today delivered the Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS) 2003, a key element of its comprehensive approach to help customers build cost-effective, end-to-end identity management solutions. MIIS improves identity and access management for customers by enabling them to integrate information from multiple repositories for a single, complete view of user information. As a result, MIIS reduces the risk and complexity associated with building, deploying and maintaining a comprehensive identity and access management solution.

"Customers have told us they need an end-to-end solution for managing identity information and access rights," said Desmond Nair, product manager at Microsoft South Africa. "With today`s delivery of MIIS, we bring provisioning and metadirectory capabilities together in a single solution that enables customers to create and manage user identities with a single consistent view across the enterprise and throughout the complete lifecycle of identity management."

In addition to integrating identity information across multiple platforms, MIIS makes identity management easier by automating the process of establishing and eliminating user accounts and enabling self-service password management.

As part of its developing identity management strategy, Microsoft is introducing other new offerings for Windows Server 2003 customers at no additional charge, including the following:

* Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) enables customers to deploy Active Directory as a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for application-specific data while using their distributed Active Directory infrastructure for user sign-on. ADAM provides customers with greater flexibility in deploying an Active Directory infrastructure or a directory-enabled application.

* Identity integration feature pack for Windows Server Active Directory integrates identity information between multiple Active Directory forests or between implementations of ADAM. As a result, customers will be able to manage digital identities more easily across their Windows Server Active Directory infrastructure.

* Directory Services Markup Language (DSML) 2.0 enables developers to represent directory structural information and directory operations as Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based documents. The result is interoperability between Active Directory and other directory services vendors that support this standard.

* The Microsoft Identity Management solution accelerator, built with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, provides planning and implantation guidance, which helps customers effectively plan and build an identity management infrastructure.

Some of these new offerings are available to customers today, and the remainder are scheduled to be available later this winter.

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Windows Server 2003, released worldwide in April, provides customers with a foundation from which to manage digital identities and access permissions through the integration of Active Directory and new features such as the Authorisation Manager. The new software delivered by Microsoft today significantly extends those capabilities to provide customers with greater flexibility and interoperability in managing identity information across the enterprise. In addition, Microsoft is working with key industry partners to deliver additional identity management services and solutions.

The future goal of Microsoft`s approach is to extend identity management beyond the firewall for better integration between enterprises through Microsoft`s ongoing collaboration with industry partners and support for interoperable standards.

Microsoft is actively demonstrating its commitment to support its customers` identity and access management needs through the integration of interoperable identity standards into the Windows platform. Microsoft, in conjunction with several industry leaders, is providing tools that developers can use to discover, integrate and help secure Web services easily. In April 2002, Microsoft, IBM Corp and VeriSign Inc released the Web Services Security (WS-Security) specification, one of several specifications outlined in the Microsoft and IBM road map titled "Security in a Web Services World".

The road map provides a comprehensive framework for building interoperable and secure Web services, including support for federated identities. Several additional specifications, including WS-Trust, WS-Policy and WS-Secure Conversation, were released for review in December 2002. Microsoft will continue to work with industry partners to advance interoperable identity specifications through Web services, allowing companies to work more effectively with partners, customers and vendors by making it easier for them to manage identity information and access rights.