Defining Directory Server Enterprise Edition Business Requirements

No simple formula exists to identify business requirements. Business requirements are determined based on collaboration with the stakeholders requiring an identity management solution, your own knowledge about the business domain, and applied creative thinking. The Sun Java Enterprise System Deployment Planning Guide describes the business analysis process in detail. It includes factors to consider when defining business requirements and constraints. This section outlines the business requirements that drive the need for a robust directory service.

Your enterprise requires a robust directory service in the following situations:

• You must make critical business information and applications available to a constantly growing and changing user base.

• These users include not only internal employees but external users such as customers, vendors, and other business partners.

A directory service addresses these needs by providing a highly available, scalable, manageable, integratable, and secure foundation for an effective identity management infrastructure. The service delivers a set of capabilities to provide a centralized data store for users' identity data and for supporting data for web services architectures.

By delivering an effective identity management infrastructure, the directory service addresses the key enterprise requirements associated with serving users and the applications that help users perform their jobs.

These requirements include the following:

• Opening up access to large and constantly changing groups of users

• Increasing security to ensure that information is properly used and shared, and that sensitive information is protected

• Providing consistently reliable access and a high quality of service to users and applications

• Delivering information and services to users efficiently, no matter how business needs change or user requirements grow

A high-performing directory service that is highly available, reliable, and secure addresses the primary business drivers : security, quality of service, and cost-efficiency.