 Security: Identity ManagementNetwork World's Security: Identity Management Newsletter, 10/24/07An identity start-up of which Grace Hopper would be proudBy Dave KearnsWhile I was researching a list of identity product/service vendors for an upcoming Network World project, I came across one I hadn’t heard of before. That’s not unusual as there are plenty of start-ups in the identity space and lots of them are in stealth mode. Still, I do usually hear about them. Certainly any company which professes to offer an “identity suite” is one I should have heard of. But Anakam was completely unknown to me. Still, I was intrigued by its slogan: “enabling the masses.” It turns out that the company specializes in a couple of different areas, perhaps only in the intersection of those areas: healthcare and government. It offers its services to banking and commerce, but it appears its customer base is overwhelmingly healthcare oriented.
Often new companies will be started by people who have worked (or schooled) together. Anakam is no different, but the circumstances might be: the CEO Allan Camaisa, COO Scott Leftwich, and CTO Brent Williams are all graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., and all served in non-IT areas – Camaisa on destroyers, Leftwich in planes and Williams in submarines. An interesting background for identity services, isn’t it? One thing that a background on ships will do is to give you a sense of the “remote user” – far from base – as well as the need for scale. Both are prominent in the company’s products. In fact, Anakam’s claim is that “…for only a fraction of the price of competing token based systems, the Anakam Identity Suite provides customers with identity management tools that scale for millions of remote users.” The suite consists of five modules: * Two-factor authentication – (Anakam.TFA) delivers two-factor authentication through the use of devices users already have, such as cell phones, pagers, home phones, Web connected computers and office phones. Note that last one: risk-based authentication or “context-based” authentication as I like to call it. It just might be worth taking the time to have a look. Note: for those too young to remember, Navy Commodore Grace Hopper is credited with creating the programming language, COBOL, among other noted accomplishments.
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| Contact the author: Dave Kearns is the editor of IdM, the Journal of Identity Management as well as a consultant to both vendors and users of IdM technologies. He's written a number of books including the (sadly) now out of print "Complete Guide to eDirectory." His other musings can be found at the Virtual Quill, an Internet publisher which provides content services to network vendors: books, manuals, white papers, lectures and seminars, marketing, technical marketing and support documents. Virtual Quill provides "words to sell by..." Find out more by e-mail. Comments to this newsletter can be e-mailed to Dave here. ARCHIVEArchive of the Security: Identity Management Newsletter. BONUS FEATUREIT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICESTo subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: security.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007 |
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