Identity and access management: Why authorization management is more than just an IT obligation
Forgotten passwords, confusing authorization structures and the constant fear of the next audit: many companies are familiar with these challenges. While the IT department struggles with requests on a daily basis and compliance requirements become ever stricter, employees accumulate access rights over the years that are no longer needed. What is missing is a systematic approach to identity and access management. You can find out how this can be achieved in our blog post.
From Excel lists to real control: Where the problem begins
Managing digital identities is one of the most critical tasks in any company. Employees need access to a wide variety of systems, from Active Directory to file servers and SharePoint to specialized applications. The complexity increases with every project change and every department rotation.
Many companies still rely on manual processes, Excel lists or the rudimentary on-board tools of their target systems. What appears to be “free” at first glance quickly leads to opaque chaos as complexity increases: a lack of transparency, high susceptibility to errors and significant security gaps. This “management” ties up valuable IT resources and makes companies vulnerable to compliance violations.
The real problem arises gradually. Authorizations are granted generously according to the “watering can principle” or are not completely withdrawn when employees change. This “privilege creep”, the uncontrolled increase in access rights, is one of the most common causes of security breaches. A colleague moves from accounting to sales, receives all new rights, but the old access to financial data remains. Over the years, accounts are created with authorizations that go far beyond what is necessary.
What access management really means
Access management is much more than simply assigning access rights. It is about precisely controlling who is allowed to access which resources, and only for as long as is actually needed. The focus is on the need-to-know principle: employees should only be able to access the data and systems that they really need for their current task.
Instead of assigning authorizations across the board at department level or copying colleagues as a template, granular control based on roles and profiles is required. Project-based access rights with expiration dates, temporary substitution rules that are automatically revoked and multi-level approval workflows provide the necessary control.
Sophisticated access management delegates the decision on authorizations to the specialist departments. They know the actual needs of their employees best and can make well-founded decisions, while IT is relieved of operational tasks.
Identity management: The complete user lifecycle
An employee’s lifecycle begins on their first day at work and ends when they leave. In between are changes of department, promotions, parental leave or project assignments. Every change requires adjustments to the authorizations.
Modern identity management automates this process. During onboarding, user accounts are created and authorizations are assigned based on position and department. In the event of changes during employment, old rights are withdrawn and new ones added – automatically, rule-based and documented.
Offboarding is particularly critical. If someone leaves the company, all access must be blocked immediately. An IAM solution ensures that no account remains active and that all changes are documented in an audit-proof manner.
Recertification: Authorizations regularly updated on the test bench
Even with the best automation, authorizations that are no longer needed can accumulate over long periods of time. Regulatory requirements such as ISO 27001 therefore demand regular recertification, i.e. the manual review of all access rights by those responsible.
In practice, this process often fails due to its complexity. Managers are confronted with confusing Excel lists, the hurdle is too high. Modern IAM solutions make recertification easier by automatically identifying which authorizations need to be checked and providing clear views.
Resources with personal data in accordance with the GDPR or particularly sensitive information should be recertified more frequently. This focuses the effort where the risk is highest. Seamless documentation helps with compliance and provides security during audits.
Compliance: Fulfill ISO 27001, NIS-2 and IT baseline protection
The requirements for information security are constantly increasing. Companies often have to comply with several regulations at the same time, from the GDPR and ISO 27001 to the new NIS 2 directive.
ISO 27001 requires verifiable controls over access rights, regular audits and documented security measures. The NIS 2 directive, which will apply in Germany from 2026, requires operators of critical infrastructures to implement access controls based on the least privilege principle and secure authentication procedures. The BSI’s IT baseline protection recommends structured authorization management over the entire life cycle of user accounts.
A well thought-out IAM strategy helps to fulfill these different requirements efficiently without having to set up separate processes for each regulation.
The challenge of integration
An Access Manager is only as good as its integration capability. Most companies work with heterogeneous IT landscapes: Active Directory, file servers with NTFS permissions, SharePoint, Microsoft 365 and various specialist applications.
Administration should be carried out centrally from a single interface. This reduces complexity and minimizes sources of error. The added value of consistent authorization management across all environments is particularly evident in hybrid infrastructures that combine on-premises and cloud systems.
The special feature: Automatic authorization correction
Most IAM solutions assign and document authorizations. But what happens if manual interventions, system changes or faulty processes lead to deviations from the planned authorization concept?
Automatic authorization correction continuously monitors whether defined target statuses are being adhered to and automatically corrects discrepancies before security gaps arise. This proactive approach is not an afterthought, but a permanent protection mechanism. The complete logging of all deviations fulfills audit requirements and shows where improvements need to be made in the processes.
Conclusion: From manual management to automated control
Authorization management is far more than a technical necessity. It is a strategic success factor that influences security, compliance and efficiency in equal measure. Companies that take a systematic approach here not only protect their data better, but also relieve the burden on their IT teams and create transparent processes.
The key lies in automation. Manual processes, Excel lists and rudimentary system tools are error-prone, time-consuming and do not scale with growing requirements. What you need is a change from time-consuming “administration” to automated, audit-proof control of your authorizations.
The BAYOOSOFT Access Manager transforms this chaos into real control. Instead of losing track in endless lists, you gain transparency over your entire authorization landscape. The unique auto-correction function ensures that your authorization structure remains clean not only immediately after tidying up, but permanently during operation – automatically, audit-proof and traceable at all times.
