Expertise in Identity and Access Management
When most people think of Australia here in North America, it is the Crocodile Dundee or Outback Steakhouse version. Truthfully, this doesn’t really do the country a lot of justice as it is wrapped in a great blanket of culture and different things to explore and do (which regrettably, I wasn’t able to do much of on the quick turn-around I had for flights before and after the training!).
Find out more about my FIM 2010 training trip to Aus…
Well it appears it’s time for another Blog and for a change it’s not me whose travelling but rather our intrepid training team…
As you are all no doubt aware we are rapidly approaching the RTM deadline for FIM 2010, and although it’s been a long time coming there is finally light at the end of the tunnel (hmmmm hopefully it’s not the express train coming the other way!) – anyhooo – as many of you will be aware Oxford Computer Group has been writing and providing training since the days of MIIS for this particular product and FIM2010 is no exception. After many months in development I am pleased to be able to say that the FIM 2010 global training tour is well and truly underway.
The first FIM white paper from Oxford Computer Group written by James Cowling. This white paper discusses Forefront Identity Manager 2010 (FIM 2010), examines the functionality which is to be expected from a modern Identity Management platform, and asks whether FIM fulfils these promises.
Read more or download the full paper… Continue reading →
According to the following article, it’s time to take passwords seriously!
Whilst this article may be open to some debate, there is no denying that passwords should be given the attention they deserve, and where the risk demands, solutions for strong authentication should be deployed.
With the availability of the self-service password reset functionality in the upcoming release of Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager (FIM) 2010, and with Single Sign-On solutions from Passlogix, we can help you take passwords seriously.
FIM’s self-service password reset allows you to deploy complex passwords without the worry of users increasing the helpdesk workload when they forget them. In addition FIM can help synchronize credentials and extend the service in to a complete Identity and Access Management platform. You can start with passwords and security, and extend to automated provisioning, group and distribution list management and workflow, all through one self-service portal. What could be easier than that?
And if your users have too many passwords, and using a single set of credentials is not an option, then look at solutions for Single Sign-On. By implementing a secure main authentication with a password bank to handle all your subsequent authentications, life could be very much easier and secure.
If you have any questions, please do contact us.
January 12th 2010 – Oxford Computer Group’s CEO, Hugh Simpson-Wells, today announced that Marvin Tansley has accepted the position of President for the company’s US operation. Hugh Simpson-Wells said, “In a year with the launch of Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager 2010 and an upturn in the US market we are planning for growth – we are excited to have Marvin on board as the catalyst for further success.”
Marvin will lead a dynamic management team in the US, whose aim will be to accelerate the company’s growth in Identity and Access Management and to reinforce its leadership role in Business Ready Security with Microsoft. OCG’s focus will be on customer adoption and education, and equally importantly, leveraging opportunities with Microsoft as it launches products in the Security space with Forefront.
Marvin Tansley commented, “I am excited with the combination of Microsoft’s investment in Forefront products and OCG’s deep experience. Customers will be beneficiaries of effective alignment of Identity and Security with their business objectives; I am very pleased to be a member of the OCG team.”
Marvin brings a wealth of experience to OCG from his previous role at Gemalto as Director of Global Alliances with a specific focus on Microsoft Identity and Access. He has also been responsible for managing Gemalto’s multi-national marketing team, located in Austin and France, focused on developing new product concepts in a number of markets, including the Financial Sector, SMEs, Large Enterprise, Online Merchants and the Public Sector. Prior to that Marvin held a number of roles including VP Products and Marketing at Axalto, focused on Smart Card IT Security, and as Global Marketing Manager, Director of Operations and Director of Sales and Customer Services for Schlumberger.
Marvin will be closely supported in his new role by Peter La Crosse, recently promoted to VP of Sales, and Stuart Nielsen-Marsh, Chief Operations Officer.
Oxford Computer Group (OCG) is an IT services company that specializes in Identity and Access Management. With operations in the USA and Europe (UK, BeNeLux and Germany), OCG has an enviable repository of expertise, solution components and training courses. The Group has deployed over 400 enterprise-wide identity and access solutions. OCG has also been recognized by Microsoft on multiple occasions – most recently as the 2009 “Partner of the Year” finalist for Security Solutions/Identity & Secure Access.
OCG Senior Architect, Simon Veale, is spending his spare time working on the Bloodhound SSC project to help inspire future generations of engineers, scientists and mathematicians.
Learn more about his incredible hobby…
It’s the season for chestnuts and one of the old chestnuts I’ve been contemplating already is New Years resolutions. I’m a little early I know. Usually they get left to the last minute and thrown together in a fit of guilt-ridden desperation. But well thought out resolutions – even the most commonly held ones – can be really valuable and positive. They don’t have to be doom-laden vows. So I’ve been thinking about my personal goals already, and because this is a business blog, I have tried to relate them to our working lives as well.
1/ Let’s start with the #1 classic “lose some weight”. I’m a cyclist, so less weight = more speed, greater efficiency and more fun! 6lbs have to be shed before May 1st.
It’s the same in business too. Most organisations have some ‘overweight’ business processes that could be trimmed in order to gain more speed, greater efficiency and reduced cost, particularly in the area of Identity and Access Management. Find out more here…
2/ “Rationalize my logins”. My business logins are fine, but my home ones are a mess! I have way too many passwords and I spend too much time trying to remember them and going through forgotten password processes when I don’t. It’s a constant frustration. But I’m going to fix that this year.
In business there is even more to be gained from employing good password management and sign-on solutions, including greater efficiency and staff productivity, reduced support costs, enhanced security and compliance. Maybe 2010 is the year for you to take a closer look at authentication and single sign-on…
3/ “Take a class”. I need to improve my French language skills. I’m going to book 16 hours of 1:1 tuition.
Would you like to take a class? For 2010 OCG is launching new courses for Identity and Access Management, including Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager (FIM) 2010 and new online and self-paced classes. See the schedule here… And if you are not as obsessed with Identity Management as we are, then there are still lost of other ways to pick up a new skill, including the wonderful Open University. You are never too old to learn!
4/ “Go see some stuff”. I live somewhere quite rural. It takes a significant effort to go to the City, but this year, I’m going to make more effort. Once a quarter I will go to an exhibition, a concert or a play.
With today’s business pressures, getting out of the office can be just as hard, if not harder. But there is so much to be gained if you do make the effort. Throughout 2010 we’ll be running a variety of briefings, seminars and our hugely popular, two day Identity and Access Summit. Email us your interest and we’ll keep you updated on our events schedule.
I wish you all a happy, efficient and productive 2010!
Its that time of year and the “Oxford Computer Group” and “Aris” screen savers are now available. Click on the image below.
My favourite is the Victorian Room of 1999 with presents and cards arriving, look out for the snow.
So, sadly the New York IDA Summit is now over – with fond farewells and much unrolling of trouser legs and yet more secret handshakes we have to say good bye to the Masonic Lodge and our new found friends and partners here in New York.
But before I go I wanted to say that if possible, the afternoon sessions here in the bowels of the Lodge were if at all possible, even more exciting and fast paced than the morning ones – we had some spectacular presentations from Doc Millar who walked us through a live session with IAG which was then quickly followed by an in depth view of Single Sign-On and FIM integration from the team at Passlogix – but perhaps the highlight from the afternoon and the session that everyone was talking about even before we started was Randy’s session on ADFS 2.0 and federation! Even before he took to the platform Randy was fielding questions on how ADFS 2.0 sits alongside FIM and identity management, what about claims and how will it all hang together? Randy gave a stirling performance making federation seem easy with a spectacular live demo and blow-by-blow account of how this exciting new technology will work whilst leaving the audience with some fundamental questions to go away and ponder – needless to say the Q&A session at the close of the day ran over with the attendees crying out for one last question and the speakers lapping it up to resounding applause.
Was it all worth it, was it a success? – I think the only possible answer can be yes! Following on from this reporters day one blog we had new, interested folks who weren’t there on day one signing up to attend day two! The US IDA Summit seems set to become a regular event with bigger and better plans already on the drawing board. The only debate is how soon? With calls for it to be a more than once yearly event, I think it would be safe to say ‘watch this space’ with the definite possibility of seeing an event around the time that FIM launches – more speakers, more partners, more technology, more partying and more demos!
So, as this intrepid reporter sits typing his last blog from the first ever Oxford Computer Group Identity and Access Summit, and as the speakers all head for their flights back home, and as the sun sets in the west its farewell to New York and HELLO BERLIN! Next stop TechEd….. Come see us in Berlin next week.
Downtown New York last night was humming as the Identity and Access Summit attendees partied it up just round the corner from one of New York’s famous landmarks the Flat Iron Building…
The afternoon sessions yesterday were just as exceiting with even more debate and discussion as Hugh presented how to extend FIM, Fred talked about MS’s own deployment of FIM across it’s Corporate Networks and finally Dave and Paul took a long look at RBAC and intergration of BHOLD’s solutions into FIM. The end of day Q&A session over ran and by mutual consent was moved to the evening’s party venue and was continued over cocktails and beer – needless to say there were some sore heads this morning!
The second day of the summit kicked off smartly with Anthony from MS giving an overview of Information Protection and Rights Management Server – it quickly turned into an impromtu demo and the whole audience was treated to a deep dive into the use and uses of RMS. This was quickly followed by a presentation from Liquid Machines showing off their solutions for extending RMS to allow buisnesses to extend protection to even more document types than just MS Office – Adobe PDFs being just one example – and also other devices and information stores such as mobile devices like Blackberry and Sharepoint…
Interestingly there was much debate and the sceptics in the audience tried hard to pick holes in the technology, but to no avail – it’s clear that rights management is a hot topic and the attendees clearly enjoyed the chance to question the presenters on what is clearly an area of great interest.
Right now we have Marvin from Gemalto bringing everyone up to speed on PKI and how to prepare and issue smart cards – lunch is getting cold but everyone is waiting to see their first smart card come hot off the press…
Stuart Nielsen-Marsh
Oxford Computer Group
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