Oracle introduces identity management framework

By Shaun Nichols on Nov 30, 2006 12:51PM

Identity Governance Framework aims to provide standards for personal data
exchange applications.

Identity Governance Framework aims to provide standards for personal data
exchange applications.

Oracle has kicked off a new initiative aimed at improving the way businesses handle identity information.

The project has been named the Identity Governance Framework (IGF). It's goal is to develop a standard for which businesses can securely exchange sensitive identity information across various systems and platforms.

The new platform is made up of four new components. A Client Attribute Requirement Markup Language (CARML) and the Attribute Authority Policy Markup Language (AAPML) are a set of protocols for storing and accessing identity information.

Oracle also announced an applciation programming interface (API) that allows developers to write applications that use CARML and AAPML along with Identity Service, which allows those applications to pull identity information from multiple sources.

Sun Microsystems, Novell, and CA are among the companies that Oracle says will be working with the framework.

A spokesperson for Oracle told vnunet.com that IGF is not a replacement for other Identity Governance projects, such as those by the Liberty Alliance or OASIS that sought to standardize the storage and sharing of personal data. Rather, Oracle hopes that IGF will build upon those efforts.

"The objective of IGF is to take the next step and provide a governance framework for the use, storage, and exchange of identity-related data in a services-oriented-identity or “SOI” approach," said the spokesperson.