Identity Governance and Administration

Identity governance and administration, or IGA, makes access explainable over time. It connects a business decision to a technical grant, then retains evidence that the grant remains appropriate.

An access management system answers a request now: may this identity perform this action? IGA asks the longer question: should this identity have this access, who owns that decision, and when will it end?

The core model

IGA works as a control loop:

1. A reliable source records a person, worker, contractor, or other identity.
2. A business event or request identifies needed access.
3. A policy and an accountable owner approve or reject it.
4. Administration provisions the approved account, group, role, or entitlement.
5. Logs and records show what changed.
6. A review confirms the access still has a purpose.
7. A departure, role change, or review removes access that no longer fits.

The loop prevents access drift. Drift is the gap between current permissions and current work. It appears when a person changes teams, a project ends, an account becomes dormant, or a temporary exception becomes permanent.

Governance and administration have different jobs