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THE SERVICES ANGLE
One way to make IAM more palatable for SMBs is to package the technology in a services wrapper. Rich Tarabour, director of product development at Alliant Technologies LLC, a Morristown, N.J.-based integrator with an information security practice, has done just that. Named Partner of the Year in 2006 by security solution vendor RSA Security Inc., Alliant also resells solutions from Cisco, Microsoft, and AT&T.

Tarabour recently helped devise a multi-pronged IAM offering that he hopes will prove irresistible to smaller companies. Called Drawbridge Managed Authentication Services, it comes in three formats: hosted off-site, managed on-site, and shrink-wrapped. The first two options, for which Alliant charges a flat monthly fee, free the customer’s IT staff from the significant burdens of installing and managing the software. They also spare businesses a large capital expenditure, enabling them to pay as they grow. “It’s all about removing the barriers to entry,” says Tarabour. “The smaller companies can’t pay like the big ones can.”

Tribridge does not yet provide a managed IAM offering, but Swenson is mulling his options. The firm does have a solution rental model, however, in which clients pay a monthly fee rather than purchase and implement hardware and software at once. “[Customers] like to be able to predict the cost, and they don’t want to have to make a huge up-front investment,” says Swenson.

Bottom line: If you’re interested in reselling IAM, do your homework. Investigate the vendors and be prepared to spend a lot of time getting to know their products and technology intimately. Get familiar with industries such as healthcare and financial services, in which regulations play a big role. And then, when you’re ready to meet your clients’ needs, sit back and let the headlines do some of your marketing work for you. “[This sale] gets easier and easier every day,” says Tarabour.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• IAM IS AN UP-AND-COMING MARKET FOR SMBs. However, plan on spending some time getting up to speed on security in general, and IAM in particular, before you begin making sales pitches.
• AN SMB’s OBJECTIONS TO IAM TECHNOLOGY will likely range from “we can’t afford it” to “we can’t manage it ourselves.” Offer solutions that emphasize peace of mind and quick return.
• CUSTOMERS IN REGULATED INDUSTRIES subject to government data privacy rules, such as healthcare and financial services, are especially good candidates for an IAM sale.
• CONSIDER WORKING WITH YOUR IAM VENDOR to put together a managed service offering. Many SMBs see appeal in paying a predictable monthly charge for comprehensive third-party assistance.

For More Information
ALLIANT TECHNOLOGIES
IMPRIVATA INC. TRIBRIDGE INC.

• LAUREN GIBBONS PAUL has more than 15 years of experience as a writer and editor for leading business and technology publications, including Computerworld, eWEEK, CIO, Managing Automation, and Network World