Managing the User Lifecycle: Device Provisioning Made Easy

User device provisioning for Identity and Access Management in enterprise environments is not only critical to the security of an organisation, but essential to productivity. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy. Provisioning devices in a way that is both automated and secure can pose a serious challenge to IT leaders, yet ignoring this essential function is not an option due to the crucial role mobile devices play in modern organisations.

With cloud computing, big data, and social technologies being such core components in today’s workplace, the reliance on mobile devices is more widespread than ever before; so too is the reliance on a distributed workforce that allows employees to communicate, collaborate, and participate online without being bound to a physical location. Mobile computing has fractured the traditional firewall, creating the need for innovative new Identity and Access Management solutions as users connect to services beyond the perimeter set by corporate IT.

The Distributed Enterprise and Its Effect on Device Provisioning

With so many applications and devices to manage, onboarding new users can be a complex undertaking. When new employees join an organisation, they need to be provisioned on each application to ensure they have access to the resources they require; to optimise their productivity, they also need to access these apps via their mobile devices. Further complicating this process is the fluidity of human resources throughout the organisation. As users change roles, they may need to have their access modified, and it needs to be deprovisioned when they leave.

The popularity of mobile applications has resulted in another complication organisations need to be cognizant of: the rise of fake, malicious mobile apps that look and function like the real thing. Many users struggle to find the right apps when starting a new job or when they need access to a new application. Malicious hackers take advantage of this confusion to create mimic applications that compromise the user and device.

The Device Provisioning Features Okta Offers

Faster Automated Provisioning

Having a trusted cloud security and identity partner like Okta makes a huge difference, protecting your team from potential security hazards while also sparing your IT department hours of menial tasks. Provisioning new employees with Okta not only enables them to be productive from the moment they first walk through the door, it also helps to ensure their devices—and by extension, your organisation—won’t fall prey to threat actors online. Okta’s automated provisioning process accommodates a range of systems—like Active Directory and Google, or an HR system like Workday—to grant new users the access they need quickly and seamlessly.

Okta achieves this level of efficiency through automation: as soon as an administrato