Interview of TAdviser with the head Solar inRights of Solar Security company Dmitry Bondar

Dmitry Bondar: The Russian market of IdM-solutions arose about ten years ago, in 2005-2007 when implementations in several large Russian companies from different branches of the economy started: VimpelCom, Alfa-Bank and TNK-BP. In the managerial plan all three companies had the high level of a maturity, and as it is possible to assume, this factor became in many respects decisive. Since then, certainly, both the market, and solutions did a big way. Requests of customers increased, new vendors, new solutions appeared.

Dmitry Bondar: IdM (Identity Management) is initial - it is the system managing accounts of users of information systems. So this solution automating one small function of IT department – issue of access rights to this or that corporate information system. As requests of the mature companies exceed possibilities of the classical IdM-systems, they evolved to a new class of solutions – Identity Governance & Administration (IGA). In international market this segment is already rather developed and saturated products.

IdM and IGA differ in the level of complexity of solvable tasks. If the main objective of IdM is correct providing access rights to IT systems, then IGA-products provide management of lifecycle of users and roles, management of requests, review of powers of employees, audit, the reporting and analytics by access rights of employees. And in the center of attention there is a person and his activity, but not corporate systems. A task of IGA-solutions is such management of users in an IT landscape which corresponds to the business processes and business challenges which are already existing in the company.

Technically this server corporate application written on Java or occasionally on .Net. In composition there is DBMS and program connectors for integration with direct information systems. In the application at the level of logic different processes – the automated or semi-automated workflow, with approvals or without like those, policy of formation of passwords, logins, audit, creation of reports are implemented.

Actually the segment which it is accepted to call generally "the Russian market of IdM" represents the IdM-set and the IGA-solutions which are often very seriously differing in functionality and solvable tasks today.

Dmitry Bondar: The number of clients grows rather actively, and the competition is still not too noticeable so the acting players not really strongly "are pushed" in the market. Besides, in the market there is noticeable an additional segmentation – first of all, on the level of a maturity of customer companies.

For example, there are companies which business processes are not standardized yet. These clients see in the IdM-solution the technical tool for the solution of a number of operational tasks. Most often they want to administer a system independently. Such companies best of all suit Quest One Identity as in this solution setup function is strongly developed.

And there are companies where business processes are already standardized, risk management is implemented, the efficiency is estimated. As a rule, it is large structure with several thousand or even tens of thousands of employees. Such companies need the tool for automation not only simple functions of a providing/withdrawal of access rights, but also all management process of them and also centralization of data on access for users to corporate information systems. Solar inRights 2.0 first of all is focused on such companies.

Dmitry Bondar: As in the west of an IdM-system appeared for about five years earlier, originally Russia was the market of almost exclusively western solutions of Oracle, IBM, SUN, Microsoft. Today a situation another, the list of the main players significantly changed. Two main vendors which we regularly face in the market are Avanpost and Quest (earlier – Dell). From "old residents" there were, perhaps, solutions of Oracle. Certainly, other solutions – 1IdM also are presented at the market, "CUBE", Sail Point Identity IQ and other, but with them we are practically not crossed.

Dmitry Bondar: I think if to speak only about the cost of licenses, adequate assessment – 2 billion rubles.

Dmitry Bondar: It is normal for our market. Dynamics of market development in recent years, certainly, positive. And it in spite of the fact that many customers experience economic difficulties, IT / IB-byudzhety or are cut down, or are even frozen.

Dmitry Bondar: Import substitution stimulated the market – and producers quickened, having seen for themselves additional opportunities, and customers paid attention to new products. Often happens so that in the company the western solution of the outdated version works, then there comes the moment when a system does not cope with tasks any more. Then the product update cost, risks of its use then the decision on migration on the domestic solution is often made is estimated. There is also a category of the customers normative limited in purchase of the western software. All this, certainly, positively influences business of the Russian vendors of IdM/IGA.

Dmitry Bondar: If sanctions are suddenly cancelled, a quantity of customers, perhaps, will return to the western solutions, but it will not have a noticeable impact on distribution of market shares between vendors. When choosing a product most of customers are guided by criteria of functionality, convenience and economic feasibility, and the domestic origin remains an additional argument for or against so far.

Besides, the Russian developers react to wishes of customers much quicker, and in it our big advantage. Let's tell, our time-to-market makes less than a month: the functionality of the average level of complexity is issued approximately in a week, more difficult – in 2-3 weeks. Thus, we can respond quickly enough to market demands, and at the same time all technologies will pass a full stroke of development: analytics, design, careful multi-stage process of testing. The cycle of completion of the western products is much longer – only the change order can about two weeks are considered. And such relation is not surprising – the Russian market makes no more than 1.5% in a portfolio of the western vendors.

At the real scenario, I think, growth of the market will continue at least a years more two, approximately on 20% annually.

Dmitry Bondar: In the technology relation all solutions will go to clouds. In the West already all key solutions became cloud, it is very noticeable trend. Respectively, over time there will be a question of their integration into the solutions of the class CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker) ensuring data security, being in a cloud.

Plus as IdM evolutionarily develops in IGA, it is logical to expect the corresponding paradigm shift when in focus of attention of the solution there is not a corporate system, but the user. Gartner notes that in the technology relation integration into IGA-solutions of functionality on the analysis of actions of users – User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) will probably become a trend of the next years. The key principle of work of this technology is creation of profiles of standard behavior of users for the purpose of further identification of anomalies, deviations from these standard patterns. This technology can help with identification of the violations connected with the excessive or got around the politician of approval access. In the long term the solution will be able to identify violators in the automatic mode and to withdraw access rights, without waiting for a compromise of accounts and sensitive information.

Dmitry Bondar: Solar inRights already exists as a cloud solution. We look at CASB and UEBA technologies too, but it is a question of a long-term outlook.

As for development plans, in the short term we are going to be focused on functionality which simplifies implementation and setup of a system for our partners and support – for customers. The last is very important as influences total cost of ownership a system.

Dmitry Bondar: In "antecedents", the "dovendorsky" period of business, our company was engaged in implementation of the western IdM-solutions therefore we well understand how they work, we know their advantages and shortcomings, optimal methods of customization. We used this experience and knowledge during Solar inRights creation. Our system is comparable and even in something exceeds a number of the western solutions in respect of flexibility. For example, regarding the system of requests in which we tried to consider all cases which faced in practice.

Besides, in our opinion, Solar inRights exceeds the western systems in respect of convenience at installation and operation. Specifics of the Russian organizations – in complexity of the settled business processes. Usually they contain a large number of exceptions, special rules and routes of approval therefore the Russian companies from an IdM-system need first of all flexibility. We also put emphasis when developing our product on it.

Dmitry Bondar: A system is written on Java, is capable to work both under Windows, and under UNIX/Linux, as DBMS it is possible to use Oracle MS SQL PostgreSQL. The fact that it is possible to use open platforms positively influences the cost of ownership of a system.

Dmitry Bondar: Solar inRights 2.0 is included into the register of domestic software. Now certification of a product of FSTEC of Russia on compliance of NDV 4 approaches end. We think going further, for certification of NDV 2.