A Dive into SCIM: How It Works, Benefits and More

The adoption of numerous cloud-based applications has made access and identity management complex for organizations. Managing users’ lifecycle from onboarding to offboarding users while ensuring security is crucial. This is where SCIM comes in.

What is SCIM Provisioning?

SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) is an open standard for managing users’ identities and access across various domains. It provides a seamless means for maintaining an organization's security. 

How Does SCIM Work?

SCIM is a synchrony between an Identity provider (IdP) and Access Management (IAM) system and a service provider. The IAM system serves as the client and the service provider is typically a SaaS application. Using REST architecture, the client relays all users’ objects required to interact with the application. 

This provides administrators with a central system for managing users’ lifecycle across applications. From the client, administrators can perform SCIM operations on a user and updates are automatically implemented on applications. Some these operations include:

• Create: When new users join an organization, the administrator can add them to the IAM system. All connected applications automatically create an account for the users. Users’ permissions are based on pre-established groupings and rules. 

• Read: Admin can easily query and retrieve users’ attributes. This is crucial for the verification of users’ information by other systems. The read operation promotes interoperability and streamlined access to identity data.

• Update: Admin can update the access and permissions of users on the IAM system. Changes are automatically propagated across connected applications.

• Delete: The administrator can offboard existing users by deleting them from the IAM system. Access of offboarded users is automatically revoked across all connected service providers.

• Sync Password: Admin can set rules that ensure a user’s password is synced with their IAM password. This eliminates the scenario of forgotten passwords. 

• Map Profile Attributes: Administrators can configure how user attributes are synchronized or mapped between the IAM platform and other applications. This ensures consistency and accuracy in user data across the various platforms. By mapping profile attributes, an organization can maintain a well-coordinated and secure identity management system.

What are The Benefits of SCIM Provisioning?

Some key benefits provided by SCIM provisioning include:

• Efficiency: The CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) facilitated by SCIM contribute to operational efficiency. The protocol automates and standardizes user provisioning tasks. Efficiency is valuable in large organizations where manually managing user identities is time-consuming and error-prone.
• Consistency: SCIM maintains identity data across diverse systems. By employing a standardized approach to CRUD operations, users’ information is uniformly represented and synchronized. Consistency is crucial for accurate access control, security, and overall data integrity.
• Standardization: SCIM establishes a standardized language for identity management. This makes it easier for administrators to implement and maintain identity-related functionalities. The standardization simplifies integration. 
• Security: The timely execution of CRUD operations enhances security. With SCIM, access rights are revoked when necessary. This reduces the risk of unauthorized access. 

Lifecycle Management Using Profile Sourcing 

User life cycle management is the process of managing users’ identities and their evolving privileges. It commences with provisioning and terminates at deprovisioning. 

IAMs can be synchronized with a profile source. The profile source is an Identity Provider (IdP). It handles the creation of user attributes. The IdP acts as the central directory for user identities and attributes. Additions and updates to the IdP are fed in real-time to the IAM then executed on applications. 

Examples of IdPs used in organizations are Azure Active Directory, HR applications or LDAP.

What are Some Provisioning Use Cases?

SCIM Provisioning can be adopted across scenarios spanning different domains. A few examples of those are:

• IT Infrastructure Provisioning: This is the most prominent use of SCIM provisioning. When new personnels join an organization, the IT department uses provisioning to set up their workstation. This includes installing applications, creating user accounts, and assigning access permissions. SCIM ensures that employees have a fully functional and secure environment tailored to their roles.

• Cloud Computing Resource Allocation: Provisioning is essential for agile resource management in cloud-based technology. Cloud businesses can automatically adjust computing resources based on changing workload. For example, during demand surge, cloud providers can allocate more virtual machines to handle computational pressure. Conversely, when demand decreases, resources can be downscaled to maximize cost-effectiveness. 

• Telecommunications Network Provisioning: Telecommunication companies use provisioning to allocate and set up network resources for customers. Provisioning guarantees the availability of network infrastructure to new customers. 

SCIM vs SAML vs SSO

Both SCIM and SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) handle identity management. However, some distinctions exist between them. 

SCIM vs SAML

SCIM primarily handles automation of user provisioning and life cycle management. 

SAML primarily deals with user authentication and authorisation. 

SCIM vs SSO

Single sign-on (SSO) enables users to log in to multiple platforms with one set of credentials. Users only need to enter their credentials once to access multiple systems. This makes work easy for users and reduces the risk of password fatigue or reuse.

SCIM streamlines user provisioning and de-provisioning across different systems, while SSO offers users a seamless and secure access across applications.

How Nblocks Helps You with SCIM Provisioning

Nblocks suite of tools automate SCIM provisioning for organizations. 

The authentication software guarantees secure and convenient user onboarding with MFA and SSO. It also seamlessly integrates with organizations using SCIM-based IdPs like Google or Azure AD. 

You can easily manage users’ access based on their roles with the authorization software. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) automatically assigns similar access to users bearing a similar role.

With the feature flag software, you can automatically manage users’ access to organizational resources. By automating users’ access to resources, the Principle of Least Privilege is upheld in your organization. This maintains the security of organizational resources.  

Closing

SCIM provisioning is an invaluable asset for every organization seeking efficiency and security with identity management.

Nblocks is equipped with tools that simplify the SCIM provisioning processes. A perfect user management experience can be incorporated into your organization with a few lines of code. 

Sign-up now to access these solutions and implement a SCIM-based identity management in your organization.