What is Identity Governance and Administration?

Understanding Identity Governance and Administration (IGA)

Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) is the framework that ensures the right people have the right access to the right resources — and that this access is continuously verified, monitored, and auditable.

As part of Workforce Identity, IGA brings together identity lifecycle management, access certifications, and policy enforcement into a centralized system. It connects the automation of identity administration with the oversight of access governance — two sides of the same security coin.

IGA helps organizations move from ad hoc access management to a policy-driven model that aligns security, compliance, and operational efficiency.

Why IGA Matters in Modern Enterprises

Hybrid work, SaaS adoption, and expanding regulatory requirements have made it harder to know who has access to what — and why.

Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) solves that challenge by introducing visibility, control, and accountability across all identities — both human and non-human.

IGA helps organizations:

• Secure workforce access: Eliminates over-privileged or orphaned accounts.
• Govern machine identities: Manages service accounts, bots, and API credentials with the same policy rigor as human users.
• Ensure compliance: Demonstrates adherence to SOX, GDPR, HIPAA, and other regulations.
• Improve efficiency: Automates provisioning, access reviews, and certifications.
• Increase visibility: Provides a unified view of all identities, entitlements, and access relationships.

In today’s digital enterprise, machine identities are everywhere — from background services to cloud workloads.

A modern IGA solution must govern every identity, not just human ones.

Core Components of Identity Governance and Administration

1. Identity Lifecycle Management

Tracks and manages user identities from onboarding to offboarding.

Ensures access is granted, modified, and revoked automatically as users change roles or leave the organization.

2. Access Certification and Reviews

Regularly validates who has access to which systems and why.

Certifiers — typically managers or application owners — can approve or revoke access directly from a central dashboard.

3. Policy and Role Management

Defines roles and policies that govern access assignment.

Combats “permission creep” and enforces the principle of least privilege.

Works closely with RBAC and ABAC to automate decisions based on business context.

4. Segregation of Duties (SoD)

Prevents toxic combinations of access that could lead to fraud or compliance violations (e.g., “Request Payment” + “Approve Payment”).

Policies automatically detect and block SoD conflicts before they’re assigned.

5. Audit and Compliance Reporting

Provides full traceability of identity and access activities.

Delivers evidence for audits and compliance reviews in minutes, not weeks.

How IGA Fits Within Workforce Identity

Within the Workforce Identity model, IGA works alongside lifecycle automation and access management to enforce accountability and policy control.

In OpenIAM, these components share a common data model — meaning every access decision is traceable from entitlement assignment to governance review.

Challenges Organizations Face with IGA

Implementing IGA often requires a balance between security control and operational agility.

Common challenges include:

• Complex IT environments: Multiple directories, HR systems, and cloud apps complicate data synchronization.
• Cultural barriers: Business users may resist regular access reviews.
• Evolving policies: Regulatory and internal policy changes require ongoing adjustment.
• Manual processes: Without automation, certifications and access requests can delay productivity.

OpenIAM addresses these challenges through automation, analytics, and intuitive governance workflows that keep IGA effective and scalable.

Implementing IGA with OpenIAM

OpenIAM provides a complete Identity Governance and Administration solution built to automate and simplify compliance at enterprise scale.

With OpenIAM, you can:

• Launch automated access certification campaigns across applications.
• Define SoD policies to prevent high-risk access combinations.
• Model roles and attribute-based policies that control entitlement assignments.
• Audit and report on all access changes through a single console.
• Integrate IGA seamlessly with identity lifecycle management and access control.

OpenIAM connects governance and administration in one platform, ensuring that every access right is both necessary and verifiable.