It has been a great few days in San Diego attending the Burton Group Catalyst Conference.  It is always refreshing and invigorating to hear what others have to say, both in formal sessions and in ad hoc conversations.  I previously posted the key points for the sessions I attended on Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.

Here is my list of the most important ideas or concepts I gleaned from the conference.

1. The biggest challenges facing the Identity Management industry are business issues, rather than technology.
2. Much more discussion focused on the process of Identity Management than the tools of Identity Management. 
3. Discussions about user-centric or user-controlled Identity were focused more on what the practical business models might be, rather than on enabling technology.
4. The quest for business efficiency has perhaps overtaken regulatory compliance as the most important driver for Identity Management.
5. Role management, while still having challenges, is very much in the mainstream of implementation and use.
6. Federation has become a forgone conclusion, rather than a theoretical exercise.
7. Entitlement management is gaining traction, but still needs much much work.
8. Several Identity Services companies are emerging as recognition is growing that Identity as a service is critical to cloud computing.
9. Privacy has emerged as a leading topic in its own right, rather than a subordinate topic within discussions of security and Identity Management.
10. The terminology used within the Identity Management market is still not precise, particularly in areas such as role management and entitlements management.

I’d be happy to discuss any or all of these in more detail.  Please drop me a line and let’s talk.

Thanks for stopping by.

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