Are we lost?

There is a posting of interest recently by Pamela Dingle, you can check it out here.  I love to see people talk from their gut and talk about real issues, without the marketing guff and fluff, just real-life observations. Her recent posting "Catalyst Epiphany 2 - We're a little lost" points out the fact that identity management is all over the map.  I agree, sometimes I feel like companies are throwing solutions as fast as they can and hope that something sticks. Identity solutions have become a type of jungle, one that you never know exactly what to expect when you get inside.  Yes, there are explorers who have been there, and have reported back to us what strange and deadly creatures you will encounter on your own journey.  But where are the roads, the standards?

When my personal life gets like this I know it is time to slow down and take inventory, examine the issues. Perhaps this is where we need to start, to slow down and start to examine the underlying issues and what the real needs are in Identity and Access Management.  I have been to this crossroad, and I think this is why I believe so strongly in the identity virtualization platform (which virtual directory is a part of, and what started this concept).  It has given me an anchor point to start from; tools in my pocket like a swiss army knife to address the multitude of issues that plaque identity integration.