Posted 7:17 AM

Dissing Identity

I don't know Infoworld's David Linthicum (he writes about Cloud Computing), never met him and - I don't think - I've ever read anything he's written. Odds are I won't read any of his stuff in the future, either.

In a recent column (Killing the cloud with complexity) he talks about "overcomplicating" cloud deployments, giving this example:

"In many instances, they [i.e., the deployers] incorporate what seems to be trendy at the time, adding technology for its own sake. An example would be using newer and more expensive security models, such as identity management, when there is really no requirement for it."

1) IdM isn't a "security model"
2) It's not new, and it certainly isn't trendy
3) and it sure isn't implemented "for it's own sake"

But the reality is that this IS how cloud service providers think (see "SCIMing the provisioning landscape"). It wasn't until actual IdM vendors got involved that SCIM begin to become a realistic protocol ("Got SCIM?")

Seems that we need to keep beating the drum and reiterating the message - Identity is core.

It'll be fun to see if this comes up at the Cloud Identity Summit (catchphrase: "Identity is the New Perimeter") in July - I'll be there and it could be "interesting".