Identity Orchestration

Identity orchestration platforms make it possible for anyone -- not just coding experts -- to create, test, deploy, and maintain identity and access management (IAM) experiences from registration and sign-on, to identity verification, to ongoing authentication.

We all want these experiences to be as painless as possible.

As users, we don't want to think about what is going on in the background. We just want secure, seamless sign-on experiences when we access our applications, regardless of whether they are located on-premise or in the cloud.

As administrators, we don't want to spend time writing custom code to integrate identity vendors, databases, and risk providers. We just want to design, test, and deploy cool user experiences as quickly as possible without needing help from highly skilled developers.

Orchestration platforms make all of this possible. User experiences are visually mapped as flows, which are diagrams that show the paths users can take when completing a task. These flows help determine how many screens might be needed, the order in which they should appear, and the information required for each experience.

With orchestration platforms, you can see user journeys mapped out from start to finish, so it's easier to recognize patterns and redundancies and streamline processes when appropriate. It's also easier to make changes across all of your journeys at once instead of using traditional, hard-coded solutions when urgent updates are needed.

The great thing is that you don't have to know how to write code to refine these flows or create new ones. Flow templates are often available to start a flow, or you can build one from scratch. Just drag and drop nodes onto your canvas, configure your flow, test it, and continue making modifications until you're happy with it.

Conductor’s role

When you use an orchestration platform, you can think of yourself as a conductor. Conductors act as guides for the musical groups they conduct. They select the music that’s performed and adjust the tempo, articulation, and phrasing. They’re responsible for unifying the performers, listening to the overall sound of the ensemble, and knowing how and when to put focus on specific performers.

Conductors are also artists. They're skilled, passionate, and know how to create memorable experiences. You're also skilled, passionate, and you already know how to build seamless registration and sign-on experiences for your users. But instead of having to create custom code to get all of the pieces to work together, you can now use a no-code, drag-and-drop interface to quickly and painlessly bring these experiences to life.

How orchestration platforms work

Orchestration platforms provide control and visibility of your entire identity and access management (IAM) system and all of the processes in place. From registration to authentication, authorization, risk monitoring, and fraud detection, you can create flows that guide users through defined tasks. 

Flows are user journeys that define the ways users interact with your products and services. To create a user experience: 
 

1. Determine what type of flow you want to create. For example, if you want to create a registration experience for new users, think about what you want it to look like. Determine what information you will obtain from them during their first visit to your site, such as their email address and phone number, and the number of steps involved in the process.
    

2. Decide what type of authentication is needed based on the level of risk associated with the process. For example, financial services, healthcare, and other heavily regulated environments might require that multi-factor authentication (MFA) be used to register for a new account, while retail organizations might accept a username and password.
    

3. Create your flow. Use a template as a starting point, or start with a blank canvas. Drag and drop one or more nodes onto your canvas, join them using logical operators, and configure your flow. Nodes represent actions within a flow. When you add a node to your flow, you specify which connection it uses. Each connection provides a unique set of capabilities. 
    

4. Test your flow to see if it runs the way you want it to.

After you've created an initial flow, you can continue to build on it as needs evolve. For example, if your application is now available in several different locations around the world, you might want to add risk-based authentication to your new account registration flow. A variety of factors determine risk scores, including the user's behavior, device (is this device recognized?), IP address, and geolocation history (does the user's location and sign-on time make sense given the time and location of the last sign-on attempt?).

You might also want to use this flow as a building block for other flows. You can clone a flow, rename it, and build an entirely new flow based on it. Using this approach to building user experiences not only saves time, but helps ensure that these experiences are consistent across the organization.

Vendor-agnostic platforms increase technology independence

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages to using a vendor-agnostic orchestration platform is that you can use the technology you already have. Whether you have relationships with a select group of vendors or use a best-of-breed approach to selecting your technology, integrations from a wide variety of third-party vendors are available for you to use in your flows. Just drag and drop the nodes onto the canvas and configure the logical operators to define experiences for your users.

For example, if you want your users to be able to sign on to your application with their Google credentials, you can drag and drop the Google Social Login connection into your flow. Or if you want to display a sign-on form, drag and drop the HTTP connection into your flow and customize it to meet your needs.

And that’s just the beginning. From pre-built threat detection, to risk identification, to provisioning, to multi-factor authentication, hundreds of out-of-the-box integrations are available from within the platform. Refer to the Integration Directory for a list of connectors available through the Ping Identity orchestration platform and descriptions of each capability.

See identity orchestration in action

The best way to understand how identity orchestration works is to see it in action. This brief demonstration shows you how easy it is to select a connector, drag and drop it onto a canvas, and build the online experiences that your users expect.