Identity & Access Management , Security Operations , Video

Dynamic CISO Award Winner: Lessons on IAM Implementation

NXP Semiconductors' Pooja Agrawalla on her Passwordless Journey, IAM Implementation
Pooja Agrawalla, head of IAM, NXP Semiconductors

IAM has always been a manual process. While many organizations try to automate IAM, it is not easy. Pooja Agrawalla, head of IAM at NXP Semiconductors and winner of Information Security Media Group's Dynamic CISO Excellence Award for Women Leaders in Cybersecurity, discusses best practices for IAM deployment and automation.

See Also: OnDemand | Modernize Your PAM Program for a Multi Cloud World

"I have worked in a 150-member IAM team. It was such a large team because most of the processes were manual. Every analyst was trying to create the account manually into multiple systems. Today, we have moved beyond that manual process," Agrawalla said.

"Tools of IAM can do this now, provided you configure them to do that," she said. "But even if I automate the account creation process in multiple systems, I still deal with a lot of errors. There are applications that do not want to use central provisioning tools. So, how do I manage these systems because I do not want to end up doing manual processes?"

Agrawalla is a big believer in identity fabric or IAM API layer. "There are tools available to manage your service request within your IT. If you want access, you go to the required tool and the tool will automatically handle your access requirement. But, we need to plan them carefully. We have to make sure it is comprehensive, consistent and secure," she said.

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at ISMG's Dynamic CISO Excellence Awards and Conference, Agrawalla also discusses:

  • The six steps to follow for a smooth implementation of IAM;
  • How to move toward passwordless authentication;
  • The value of using an identity fabric architecture.

Agrawalla has more than 20 years of experience in the identity, access, governance and privileged access management solutions space. Her areas of focus include cloud security and cloud identity governance, identity as a service, team and stakeholder management, portfolio management and strategic planning, product customization and implementation, solutions delivery, and design thinking and innovation.


About the Author

Suparna Goswami

Suparna Goswami

Associate Editor, ISMG

Goswami has more than 10 years of experience in the field of journalism. She has covered a variety of beats including global macro economy, fintech, startups and other business trends. Before joining ISMG, she contributed for Forbes Asia, where she wrote about the Indian startup ecosystem. She has also worked with UK-based International Finance Magazine and leading Indian newspapers, such as DNA and Times of India.




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