Novell Highlights Identity-based Computing in Burton Catalyst Keynote

Novell Vice Chairman – Office of the CEO Chris Stone highlighted the convergence of identity- and resource-management technologies, a concept Novell calls identity-based computing, in a keynote today at the Burton Group Catalyst Conference 2004.

Identity-based computing marries the power of identity management, traditionally viewed as securing user access to information and network services, with resource management, defined as managing the lifecycle of IT resources including devices, applications and platforms. Identity-based computing is a framework that allows organizations to secure and manage their complex network environments in a comprehensive, scalable way.

“Networks are collections of two basic types of objects – human users and technology-based devices, applications and information,” said Stone. “Identity-based computing is the idea of treating all objects on the network, whether human or technology based, in the same way. The things you do for a user – grant access, provision services, synchronize information across applications and control workflow – are all parallel actions you take as you manage resources on the network, be they devices, applications or data. In the Internet world, where network scale and complexity go beyond anything organizations have faced before, this comprehensive, systematic framework helps organizations meet the dual challenges of securing and managing the computing environment.”