Implementing an authentication solution to grant access to corporate applications—whether for customers or employees—is a top priority for CIOs today. There's a clear need for solid, reliable technology to deliver dependable access to the information people want to work with. It's important for customers to have an enjoyable experience signing in to use the products they've made purchases for. CIOs considering identity solutions for their customers have two options: either continue to maintain their existing systems (such as LDAP or Active Directory) or expand into the cloud by seeking identity and access management as a service. The cloud offers a number of benefits but let’s look at both options. Maintaining existing systems Legacy identity solutions behind the corporate firewall are typically based on older authentication techniques and protocols. So it's no surprise that savvy end users want to make the most out of a company's product would get frustrated trying.