In this blog post, we will uncover the best practices for implementing an effective access request process that empowers your workforce while keeping your company's assets secure.
A Typical Access Request Process
Access requests usually follow these steps:
- Request: A person asks for access, by sending an email, slack message or submitting a ticket.
- Review: Someone in IT checks if the request is valid and routes it to the appropriate person (e.g. system owner, manager) to approve the request.
- Approval or denial: The approver reviews the request and determines if the requestor should get access. If the request adheres to policies, they approve it.
- Implementation: IT provisions access and permissions for the person.
However, this process is not without its challenges. One of the main issues is that it can be time-consuming and tedious, especially for larger organizations with complex systems and multiple approvers.
This can lead to delays in granting access, resulting in frustrated employees and reduced productivity.
Additionally, manual processes are prone to errors, which can lead to security risks such as unauthorized access or data breaches.
Benefits of Automating Access Requests
An access management tool offers numerous benefits for organizations seeking to streamline their access request process.
It simplifies and automates requesting access to applications and resources.
Offering self-service capabilities integrated with collaboration tools, it streamlines the process by sending user requests to reviewers for approval and auto-provisions access.
And lastly, by implementing a least privilege policy, it ensures that employees only gain access to the resources necessary for their job, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.
- Increased User Productivity: This reduces the time it takes to grant or revoke employee access, leading to faster onboarding.
- Enhanced Security: This allows IT administrators to monitor user activity and permissions more effectively, enabling them to identify potential security threats before they escalate. This proactive approach minimizes the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches.
- Comprehensive Audit Trails: A centralized system records all access requests and modifications in one place, making it easier to maintain accurate documentation for compliance purposes. This comprehensive audit trail helps businesses demonstrate adherence to industry regulations and avoid costly fines.
- Streamlined Administration: With a single point of control, administrators can manage employee access levels across various systems and applications more efficiently. This streamlined process reduces administrative overhead and enables IT teams to focus on more strategic tasks.
How to automate access requests with Multiplier
Multiplier is an access management platform built natively for Jira Service Management that enables organizations to automate access requests.
Multiplier connects to IdPs such as Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace and Jumpcloud and syncs all your apps and roles:
Each app can have multiple roles that users can request:
These roles can be mapped to an approval workflow where access requests can be routed to a manager/app owner:
So now when an employee goes to your IT help desk portal or Slack to submit an access request, they see a dynamic list of apps populated in the service catalog:
When a user submits a request that doesn't require approval, Multiplier automatically provisions access, alerts the user and closes out the ticket.
For requests that do require approval, Multiplier routes it to the approvers, and provisions access once approval has been granted:
Lastly, having all of these requests coming into Jira helps you sail through your audits:
Experience the benefits of automated access requests for yourself by signing up for a free trial of Multiplier on the Atlassian Marketplace.
Discover how our platform can streamline your workflows, enhance security, and boost productivity across your organization.
