SWOT Assessment: SafeNet Authentication Service v3.3 Analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats Reference Code: IT017-004220 Publication Date: 25 Nov 2013 Author: Andrew Kellett SUMMARY Catalyst Securing safe access to business systems while retaining usability and ease of access for authorized users has always been a difficult balancing act. The ever-increasing use of cloud-based applications and the growing range of mobile facilities available to business users add extra layers of complexity. At the same time, cloud and mobile services provide new identity management opportunities. SafeNet, with its extensive range of cloud-based identity management products, offers hardware and software-based authentication and access control facilities for enterprise and service provider clients. Central management from a single portal and the ability to map user authentication and access rights to business risk at the time of access underpins the SafeNet solution, and also drives the need for more flexible and secure identity management services. Key messages SafeNet cloud-based authentication services are relevant to both the service provider community and enterprise clients. Service providers (SPs) are afforded the facilities to deliver a secure, own-branded and managed, virtual authentication and access control service, without the overheads of major infrastructure investment. Multi-tier management enables SPs to manage all their subscribers from a single portal. Services for enterprise clients offer efficiencies and savings driven by high levels of automation for policy controls, self-service provisioning, user management, and reporting. Cost savings are made through reduced administration and infrastructure overheads. The growth in cloud-based security services is changing the dynamics of the identity management sector, as is the growing use of cloud-based applications and services in enterprises. However, there are a number of organizations that for business and compliance Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 1
reasons cannot and will not move their operations or identity management controls to a cloud-based service. Ovum view Cloud and mobility is transforming the way users consume business services. For the vast majority of public and private sector organizations, the changes are already underway. Ovum research shows that less than 20% of enterprise organizations have no cloud deployments, and up to 80% of users claim to have mobile access to business systems. For many organizations the traditional platform approaches to managing identity have proved too difficult to support and too costly to maintain. The opportunity to move services to the cloud, and at the same time reduce cost and management overheads is attractive on a number of levels. This is particularly the case if the solution on offer supports seamless, single sign-on (SSO) between core operational systems and cloud-based applications and services. Small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) have often been excluded from mainstream identity management because of the cost and support overheads. For cloud-based alternatives they are a significant target, along with larger organizations that do not have the internal IT resources to support complex security issues. SafeNet offers the flexibility and coverage to support service providers and enterprise clients. The company's cloud-based identity management platform allows customers to consume strong authentication services from the cloud, but does not force clients to rip and replace existing identity management products. It supports a phased and automated approach to migration while retaining the ability to support third-party tokens and services. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENTERPRISES Why consider the SafeNet Authentication Service SafeNet offers a viable, cloud service alternative to the traditional platform approach to identity management. The SafeNet Authentication Service provides secure, automated, authentication-as-a service and web SSO without the infrastructure, support, and cost overheads of the traditional identity management model. Strong authentication is supported using scalable, flexible, and automated workflows and application program interfaces (APIs), and by taking a vendor-agnostic approach to the wide range of hardware and software tokens that it is able to work with. Deployment to SafeNet's cloud environment is quick and relatively painless for business clients and their users and devices. SafeNet offers: A choice of hosted and on-premise identity management services. A multi-tiered and multi-tenanted approach allows service providers to manage unlimited numbers of organizations, and enterprises to control disconnected operational groups. Integrated billing facilities enable service providers to manage the commercial aspects of their operations. Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 2
The fully customizable white-label approach allows portal and token branding, and local language customization for user interfaces. Automated support extends to user synchronization, token provisioning, traditional RADIUS applications and SAML-based services, reporting and alerts, security policy application, and self-service enrolment. A self-service portal is available to help reduce help-desk call volumes. Automated reporting and preconfigured reports are available, as is integration with mainstream security information and event management (SIEM) systems. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Flexibility and service meets the needs of enterprise clients and SPs SafeNet offers hosted and on-premise choices for its cloud-based identity management services. It delivers a fully out-sourced solution for enterprise clients, while service providers can build a scalable offering within their own services-based operations. Automation of service reduces operational and management overheads A fully automated approach to service delivery reduces support and management overheads. It also cuts back on cost and complexity issues normally associated with running strong authentication solutions. Automation includes: user synchronization, token provisioning, SAML service registration, reporting, security policy application, self-enrolment, and alerting services. Enterprise operability is driving the SafeNet service SafeNet offers support for a wide range of operational systems and services including integration with traditional RADIUS applications and newer SAML-based services. There is support for services and applications delivered from outside the enterprise and for integration with the third-party offerings of the service provider community and systems integrators. Weaknesses Identity as a service has limits to its appeal Identity as a cloud-based service is already changing the dynamics of the identity management sector. There is also significant market potential for further take up. That notwithstanding, there are a substantial number of organizations that for business and compliance reasons cannot and will not move their operations or identity management controls to a cloud-based service provider. For these scenarios, SafeNet offers an on-premises version of its cloud service, which enables service providers to host the service themselves. Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 3
High levels of competition make it important not to undersell the brand The delivery of identity management services from the cloud is already one of the most competitive areas of the security marketplace. It is important not to undersell the brand. SafeNet already has a large client base, but with its white label and partnering approach many customers will not be aware they are using its products. Opportunities Product convergence within the services sector provides opportunities The adoption of cloud and SaaS applications continues to rise, increasing the requirement for a consistent identity bridge as more users have remote, across-platform requirements. It increases the need to align authentication and SSO services as the pressure to actively reduce the number of accounts and passwords each user needs to remember grows. Cloud-based authentication offers important new market opportunities Increased need for strong authentication in business environments will lead to new groups of users consuming cloud-based authentication services. These include organizations that are expanding operations to use cloud-based applications and services, the smaller number of cloud-only users, and the growing number of organizations that rely on a service provider to oversee identity management services. Mobile device usage creates both problems and opportunities The widespread adoption of mobile computing platforms creates situations where users have multiple identities and require access to business systems from more than one endpoint device. There are good opportunities to make use of mobile devices as "the something that the user owns" component of authentication, and as the security on these devices matures, as a platform for generating one-time tokens for SSO access. Threats Too many solutions and too little in the way of consistency The cloud services sector of the identity management market is overburdened with new entrants and technology that lacks the maturity to deliver the levels of service that businesses are demanding. Identity platform vendors see the cloud as a new opportunity In addition to the new entrants to the identity management sector, established service providers such as SafeNet are coming under pressure from mainstream identity management vendors that see identity-as-a-service as a natural extension of their existing product portfolios. Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 4
DATA SHEET Key facts about the solution Table 1: Data sheet: SafeNet Authentication Service Product name SafeNet Authentication Service Product classification Cloud-based authentication and SSO solution Version number 3.3 Release date June 2013 Industries covered Manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, financials, government and public sector, healthcare, law enforcement, IT, retail Geographies covered All Relevant company sizes All Platforms supported This is a web-based service that can be accessed by any Internet-connected browser Languages supported Services can be customized for all languages Licensing options Per-user per-year licensing Deployment options On-premise, on-premise (managed), hosted (dedicated), and SaaS Route(s) to market Via the service provider channel, direct sales, and other distribution channels URL www.safenet-inc.com Company headquarters Belcamp Maryland US European headquarters Camberley North America headquarters As company headquarters UK Asia-Pacific headquarters Hong Kong Source: Ovum APPENDIX Further reading Methodology Cloud: Transforming the IAM Industry, IT017-004036 (July 2013) Security Challenges in the Authentication Sector, IT017-004180 (August 2013) Ovum SWOT Assessments are independent reviews carried out using Ovum s evaluation model for the relevant technology area, supported by conversations with vendors, users, and service providers of the solution concerned, and in-depth secondary research. Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 5
Author Andrew Kellett, Principal Analyst, Infrastructure and Security Andrew.kellett@ovum.com We hope that this analysis will help you make informed and imaginative business decisions. If you have further requirements, Ovum s consulting team may be able to help you. For more information about Ovum s consulting capabilities, please contact us directly at consulting@ovum.com. Disclaimer All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, Ovum (an Informa business). The facts of this report are believed to be correct at the time of publication but cannot be guaranteed. Please note that the findings, conclusions, and recommendations that Ovum delivers will be based on information gathered in good faith from both primary and secondary sources, whose accuracy we are not always in a position to guarantee. As such Ovum can accept no liability whatever for actions taken based on any information that may subsequently prove to be incorrect. Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 6