The Future of SAP IDM

I was recently made aware that SAP is planning some changes in how they are going forward with SAP IDM. SAP is moving IDM development from Norway to Bulgaria during the third quarter of this year. While it is not unusual for companies to make these changes, there are some questions and concerns that have been passed my way as someone closely identified with SAP IDM.

So what does this mean for IDM? Overall, SAP is planning on further embedding their IDM initiatives to the Cloud and analytics, which we will see in future releases of SAP IDM. One would assume that this would mean a tighter integration with HANA, which should be well received in SAP-centric organizations.

However what is most concerning to me is that it has proven difficult to obtain any official statements regarding the road-map or the changes in the SAP IDM team. However Gerlinde Zibulski, Director Product Management Security at SAP HQ in Walldorf has been most helpful to me in providing information about how this will affect the product. I had a chance to have a discussion with Gerlinde, who was able to answer some of the questions that were on my mind and that I’ve heard from the SAP IDM community.

• What are the plans for development of the Attestation module? – It’s out and available in IDM 7.2 via Service Pack. This module will remain accessible via REST only as an option for those customers who do not plan to integrate with GRC.
• What are the plans for the future of the GRC integration? – SAP remains committed to the integration of IDM and GRC. The roadmap indicates that there will be tighter integration with HANA and analytic \s for GRC.
• Will SAP continue to support the non-SAP connectors and the change generic connector architecture that allows for connectivity to non-Landscape Systems? – Yes, this is a core part of SAP IDM and there are no plans to change this.
• How do these changes affect the overall road-map? – Not at all. If you’re interested in learning more about the road-map, you can view it here. (SMP Login required)

Gerlinde pointed me towards the official SAP IDM road-map which confirmed that HANA is indeed a large part of IDM’s future. Additionally, the inclusion of Analytics to understand all incoming security information coming from GRC. One of the other interesting things about SAP IDM’s future is its integration with the cloud. As the IT and ERP world is all about the cloud right now, it should be interesting to see what comes about.

She also confirmed to me that SAP IDM 8 is on track to be released just before d-code 2014. There are also plans in place to hire more developers in the expanded Sofia office to work on SAP IDM.

To be fair, SAP has done an excellent job with its recent CEI program for the purpose of obtaining feedback from customers and consultants so that they may better understand how SAP IDM is used in the field. I look forward to attending and participating in more of these sessions in the future. (I’d also be very interested in seeing a CEI for GRC, but more on that another time)

Finally, I would like to send my best wishes to the Trondheim Labs (formerly MaXware) team. For almost 20 years, they have been working on IDM and VDS, while assisting with the definition and execution of what Identity Management means to the SAP Landscape and the overall Business Enterprise. I have been proud to be associated with them as a co-worker and as a partner. I know whatever you work on will be vastly enhanced by your participation. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and hope that we get to work again in the future.

If anyone has questions regarding SAP IDM, they may contact her via email. Additionally, ideas for the future of SAP IDM can always be logged at the SAP IDM Idea Place.