Novell Sets the Agenda for Identity Management and Directory Services

Novell, Inc., the leading provider of Net business solutions, today unveiled project Destiny, the company's roadmap for the next generation of directory services. The roadmap consists of several key directory releases over the next 18 months, beginning with Novell's UDDI server later this year, which will ultimately extend Novell's leadership position in secure identity management to the world of Web services. While directories today are largely static data stores, Destiny will culminate in a directory that can make intelligent decisions about users, data and relationships based on business rules, and enforce those rules and policies across all network resources, including Web services. This broad integration helps companies reduce the complexity of their networks and create one Net - where intranets, extranets and the Internet work together - allowing them to more quickly adapt to changing business environments and seize new opportunities.

"As companies continue to deploy new applications and try to develop to emerging Web services, their networks are becoming ever more complex, making them difficult to manage, difficult to secure and a major drain on resources. This is complicated by the fact that some technology vendors are now forcing companies to upgrade existing systems whether or not it makes sense for the organization," said Chris Stone, Novell vice chairman - Office of the CEO. "Novell's vision for directories is radically different than anything anyone has ever done before, and it will truly eliminate this obstacle of complexity - solving the identity, interoperability and security problems within current and future environments. Destiny marks the most significant direction for Novell's directory franchise since the shipment of eDirectory™ in 1999." Central to the Destiny roadmap are enhancements in four areas: Web services, Dynamic Identity, Intelligent Infrastructure and federated trust.

• Web services - Long the leader in secure identity management, through Destiny Novell will take this expertise and extend it to Web services. First, Novell will release a UDDI server built on Novell® eDirectory. Coupling this standard with the directory will add the secure identity and access management that is currently missing from UDDI registries. Later, with the addition of native XML and SOAP support, Destiny will extend secure identity management to every aspect of Web services - allowing businesses to provision and control access to Web services, define policies to manage them, and provide self-service capabilities. The recently announced acquisition of SilverStream will give Novell a strong set of tools ready to implement many of the Web services features Destiny will include.
• Dynamic Identity - Today all directories are very rigid in the way they represent relationships. Dynamic Identity will add much greater flexibility to those relationships by representing different views of an identity depending on the service that is looking at it: A travel Web site may only require a limited view of a user's identity - her company and frequent flyer number - while an accounting application consumes her complete profile, including job role, budgetary constraints and so forth. This fluid data structure simplifies administration and maximizes the directory's value across the enterprise.
• Intelligent Infrastructure - Rather than requiring a separate policy engine, the directory becomes an Intelligent Infrastructure where policy is inherent in the service. With this, the directory can make intelligent decisions about data and relationships based on business rules. No longer are business policies enforced by administrators and memos; rather, they are automated and dynamic.
• Federated trust - Enhancements in the Destiny roadmap will allow businesses to establish federated trust: business relationships where identity information can be securely exchanged. With Destiny, federated trust will be based on open standards, including SAML and the Liberty Alliance specifications. Federation of security credentials, using open standards, will allow businesses to securely interact with their customers, partners, employees and suppliers.

For all its promise, the Web services framework has evolved without intrinsic identity management functions, including provisioning, access control and self-service," said Jamie Lewis, CEO of Burton Group. "But to support Web services effectively, directories must become much more dynamic, addressing the need for end-to-end identity management, interoperability and integration with the Web services framework. By outlining Destiny, Novell has demonstrated that it understands these needs and is working to meet it in its product line."