Alcatel-Lucent expects to cut the running cost of its
IT service desk by 10% and reduce password-related calls by 70%
after completing a programme to standardise
identity management software across operations in 130
countries.
Jean-Francois Relativo, project manager at Alcatel-Lucent, told
Computer Weekly that the goal of the programme was to achieve a
single set of processes for managing the digital identities of its
76,000 employees and contractors around the world.
"Identity management is at the heart of information systems, and
by centralising control we have improved compliance with
information security and other regulations with a complete audit
trail of all user actions around the world," Relativo said.
The company has replaced a large number of different identity
management processes and mainly proprietary software developed
in-house with
IBM's Tivoli identity management software.
Relativo said most of the cost savings would come from increased
speed and efficiency through the use of standard and largely
automated processes across the organisation.
These include the ability for users to reset passwords online
without calling the helpdesk and the automatic disabling of user
accounts when employees leave the company.
Alcatel-Lucent plans to expand its identity management programme
to include users from its international network of business
partners
In February this year,
Alcatel-Lucent teamed up with HP to develop a product designed
to secure service orientated architectures.
French telecommunications equipment manufacturer Alcatel
initiated the programme three years ago. The company extended the
project to include the operations of US firm Lucent technologies
after the
two companies merged in 2006.