So, you just built a new Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 environment? Fantastic - you just invested in the best identity life-cycle management product around, so you're undoubtedly a conscientious and security-minded person.
With that said, you may be wondering how to best manage your new MIM environment. If you're not sure you have the right people on your staff, don't despair. Even if you prefer to keep IT management in-house, there are many reasons to consider outsourcing MIM administration.
MIM is Complex
It runs on Windows Server, talks to one or more SQL Server databases, and uses SharePoint as a GUI. It's practically inseparable from Active Directory and, often, Azure Active Directory.
The aforementioned just gets MIM installed. If you actually want to make it do something, you will need someone on your team who can write code in VB.Net, C#, or PowerShell. Sometimes you'll need someone to write XML, XAML, and more.
It's unlikely that any one person is an expert in all of these things. If they are, you'll probably have to pay them a premium salary. On the other hand, even if you have access to a team of experts with these skills, they will have their own priorities, and it can be difficult to get them all aligned to complete your project on time.
Regardless, you don't need all of these skills all of the time. Many of these skill-sets only matter when you're making a major change to your MIM environment.
MIM Needs Regular Attention
MIM automates important business and technical processes, so it can't be left unmonitored. With that said, not every problem needs immediate attention. In fact, some issues require no intervention at all. You need your best people able to fix MIM when it breaks, but at the same time, you don't want them wasting time on problems that go away on their own. Training junior resources to keep on eye on MIM, though, can be risky and expensive.
MIM Administrators are People
Unfortunately, MIM administrators occasionally travel to Fiji, have babies, contract diseases, or do various other things that distract them from managing your MIM environment.
If something breaks while your administrator is gone, what will you do?
One good MIM administrator is not enough, but because they do not come cheap, two might be too many.
IT Environments Change
So, you built a world-class MIM environment, and it does everything you need it to do. Then, you migrate everyone's mailbox to Office 365 and don't want to waste anyone's time managing licenses.
Can MIM handle this? Sure. Can your MIM administrator handle this? Maybe. A MIM veteran has probably done this sort of thing once or twice - but is that enough? If not, how much time and money can you afford to spend on training someone to do something you might never ask him to do again?
It's More Cost-Effective
Effective management of your MIM environment requires a precise set of skills, applied precise times. Most environments don't need a full-time architect, but training your staff each time you want to execute a MIM project can be expensive and time-consuming.
So, how do you keep your costs low but still complete your projects on time?
Outsourcing.
A good IT partner can monitor and maintain your MIM environment; saving you time, money, and freeing up your resources to focus on more strategic projects. You can have complete confidence that your environment is maintained appropriately and that you're only paying for what you need.
Blue Chip's Operations as a Service (OaaS) team has years of experience supporting FIM and MIM, as well as SharePoint, SQL Server, and more. Whether you need minor or major enhancements, custom reporting, or just want some advice from one of our world-class consultants, Blue Chip can help.
