Microsoft Unveils Upgraded Identity Management Self-Service, Windows Integration With Docker

Microsoft on Tuesday released two new features that its channel partners said will enable them to migrate more customers to Azure, the world's second-largest public cloud: an upgraded identity management product and tighter integration between Windows and Docker.

Microsoft Identity Manager, released in public preview, replaces Forefront Identity Manager (FIM) with a more advanced solution. The new secure identity self-service helps users manage digital identities for use in the cloud and offers enhanced administrator security, according to Microsoft.

After last month's announcement of a partnership with Docker and the rollout of several new features integrating the Linux container platform with Azure, Microsoft also has introduced a Docker client that can be run directly from Windows to manage containers.

[Related: Microsoft To Add Cloud OS, Azure Marketplace Partners]

"Both of these updates will remove roadblocks that customers have, enabling us to effectively move our clients into cloud-based platforms, specifically with Office365 and Windows Azure,’ Logan McCoy, vice president of sales at CCB Technology, a Microsoft partner based in Racine, Wis., told CRN.

Ben Mead, cloud and infrastructure lead at Credera, a Dallas-based IT consultant, told CRN the new capabilities offered in Identity Manager "redress several clear shortcomings in the current product lineup related to user self-service identity and attribute management, enabling self-service password resets in a secure multifactor environment, and promise to make integration with their myriad cloud service offerings a significantly more streamlined experience."

The new service is exciting, primarily because "Microsoft is finally providing a new set of capabilities to replace the FIM product line after four-and-a-half very long years of competing with their competitors' identity management tools on price alone," Mead told CRN.

Microsoft is helping solution providers shorten the adoption curve for leveraging hybrid cloud services, Mead said, adding Identity Manager "goes a step further by removing a key barrier to adoption, namely, the complexity most IT organizations face when attempting to integrate with multiple cloud services in a secure manner."

Shawn Hurst, vice president of technology at CCB, told CRN the identity management solution will temper the concerns that customers voice about security when moving to the cloud.

"By providing additional enhancements like multifactor authentication and Just Enough Admin, this should give IT managers the control they need to meet even the most stringent of regulatory requirements, while providing a seamless sign-in experience for any applications, whether on premise or in the cloud," Hurst told CRN.

PUBLISHED NOV. 18, 2014