General Electric (GE), the
manufacturing and services giant, is deploying Sun Java System
Identity Manager to provide user authentication for its entire
workforce of 450,000 users.
The first of several phases
of the platform’s integration into GE will give access to all
Sarbanes Oxley level-one applications and platforms within 12
months using the provisioning component of Sun Microsystems' Sun
Java Enterprise System.
Tom Sheffield, manager of
identity and access management at GE, said the identity management
software would enable the group “to get users up and running
productively” by letting GE change user access privileges and
instantly revoke the accounts of staff when they leave.
Identity Manager will be used
to allow GE to manage accounts and access privileges centrally. The
software from Sun provides role- and rules-based provisioning which
will enable GE to set policies on users, organisations, resources,
roles, or groups, which ensures that its corporate security
requirements are automatically enforced, Sun said.
GE’s implementation of
Identity Manager is expected to be handled centrally by GE
Corporate, which already has Identity Manager up and running. Each
of the group’s business units will be individually charged with
phasing in the system on time and in accordance with strict
guidance from GE headquarters.
Once the system is fully
operational, GE expects to be able to manage staff access to any
part of its IT infrastructure, based on an individual’s specific
job function, geography and role.
Identity Manager supports
databases including DB2, SQL Server and Oracle 8i and 9i, ERP
systems from SAP and Oracle, e-mail servers such as Lotus Notes and
Microsoft Exchange, plus all the main operating systems, including
Windows 2000/2003, AIX, HP-UX, Red Hat and Solaris.