What is Identity and Access Management?

Briefly, Identity-and-Access Management helps organizations ensure a variety of access credentials are logged and logged correctly. Applications often try to authenticate users by asking them to "authenticate" to their information (e.g. user name and password). But, they can also access data based on information like device identifiers and geographic location, with the data being correlated with who the user is and what role they are playing in the organization (e.g. Administrator, Executive, etc.). These "identities" enable users to have a smooth, consistent experience (e.g. making a purchase on their company account and gaining access to other resources like payroll) while also ensuring the organization has the most complete information on who is accessing the resources.

The Role of Salesforce Certified Identity and Access Management Designer (SU21)

All week, we'll be bringing you some of the week's top stories, with experts, executives, and insiders sharing their views on Big Data, AI, and more.  Data nerds, your time is precious—and so is this one: Salesforce this week launched the Salesforce Identity and Access Management Developer Certification, a specialist program that confirms your expertise in working with Big Data and cloud-native technologies.  Like you, developers obsess over the best technologies to build their products, but you also need to consider how these tools can help others build theirs. You don't get better at doing your job if you don't understand the nuances of the technologies around you, and you need to know how to bring these different paradigms together.

Why Is Salesforce Certified Identity and Access Management Designer (SU21) A Big Deal?

The Salesforce Certified Identity and Access Management Designers initiative provide Salesforce customers with access to talent who know the ins and outs of the products' intricate API. On top of that, Salesforce had a strong track record of providing the highest-quality security and support to its customers. So there was no question that the quality of the certifications was going to be high.  Once qualified, you get to design and implement solutions for Salesforce customers, who can choose from over 1,500 add-ons and 5,500 methods of interacting with their platforms. This ability to explore the various parts of the systems and understand what makes them tick to make those interactions a little easier for your customers makes you a very valuable part of the Salesforce team.

My Journey towards Salesforce Certified Identity and Access Management Designer (SU21)

The Identity-and-Access-Management-Designer Salesforce Certified Identity and Access Management Designer (SU21) design were conceived and launched by Ken Heck in June 2011. In June 2012, the Implementation Consultant to the Identity-and-Access-Management Design, Ken Heck, received the Big Deal certification. In July 2012, Derek Hanson joined Ken Heck to assist with the certification and in June 2014, Ken Heck and Derek Hanson began promoting the SIAM® Certified Identity-and-Access-Management Design Professional Salesforce Design Specialist. Ken Heck, Derek Hanson, and Robin Holt joined forces and took the certification to market on their own in July 2014.

Tips for Success towards Salesforce Certified Identity and Access Management Designer (SU21)

Because identity and access management is a domain where there’s huge potential for “enterprise friction” and software complexity, it’s a “really scary domain,” according to Nicolas A. O’Connor, Salesforce’s product management director, information and identity, and the Salesforce Identity & Access Management Design Certification program lead.