User provisioning, what it is and its advantages

User provisioning is an IT process that defines the configuration of an IT infrastructure. It can refer to servers, networks, devices, applications, services, and users. In this article, we will focus on the latter.

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User provisioning

User provisioning refers to the configuration of the digital identities and access of an individual. The purpose is to ensure that employees have access to the necessary company applications and resources to perform their work.

In practice, this involves creating accounts and credentials for a person so that they can work and have access to all the resources they need to perform their tasks. This type of provisioning is based on the definition of roles, groups, and permissions. Groups of users with similar needs are identified, and each is granted a different level of power over resources based on their role in the company.

Establishing groups and roles in advance allows for faster company onboarding, as well as the creation and modification of access privileges to resources. It also provides greater security and control to the company since it is clear, tracked, and defined “who can do what.”

Other types of provisioning

There are other types of provisioning, such as

• server provisioning,
• network provisioning,
• service and application provisioning,
• mobile device provisioning.

Automated User Provisioning

Provisioning on its own is no longer enough, in the current world its atomization has become essential. When automated user provisioning is absent, IT operators are forced to create all necessary identities and accesses to various groups and roles from scratch each time, which creates enormous inefficiencies that worsen as the number of users grows.

Imagine having to create user accounts and credentials 10 times a year or even 10,000-20,000 times a year. You would spend all your time performing only this type of activity. Not to mention the negative psychological impact it would have on the person and the cost inefficiency for the company. Nobody wins.

However, the purpose of software is to simplify and automate processes so that they are more efficient and effective. Relying on software houses to create a custom application or using existing products on the market becomes essential to automate provisioning.

Advantages of User Provisioning

The advantages of user provisioning, especially its automated version, are:

Cost reduction

Cost savings can already be achieved with manual provisioning. Knowing in advance what accesses to assign bypasses all the necessary phone calls and emails required to define them, allowing for a cost-saving of labour. With the addition of automation, the situation can only improve.

Improved productivity of internal resources

Internal resources in the company may not be faster in their work, but they can dedicate themselves to more value-added activities for the company. In addition, the psychological impact should be considered: the IT operator should not dedicate most of their time solely to this activity, but instead find a simplified process and be much less stressed and frustrated.

Greater transparency and control

To define the provisioning process, all stakeholders must be involved and, as a result, there is greater transparency in IT activities. It also becomes much easier to monitor and verify anomalous or illicit activities by internal and external users to the organization.

Scalability

With an automatic system, it becomes easy to increase the number of users, with little impact on the number of resources needed to manage it. It will no longer be necessary to hire additional IT operators as the company grows, because the software will take care of everything. For example, one of our clients went from managing 5,000 users with 5 dedicated people to 15,000 users with only 4.

Reduction of human error

Where there is automation, there is no human intervention, and if there is no human intervention, the possibility of error drops drastically.

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