Identity in the Secure Hybrid Cloud

When it comes to the secure hybrid cloud, Identity has many different definitions from a device a user is using to the combination device, location, password, and other multi-factor authentication means. Even with all the technology there is still the question of where the identity store lives (the bits that contain the identity for all users, devices, etc.) as well as how do you prove identity once the user goes somewhere within the cloud which is outside your control?

A Look At The Horizon

One of the cool things about attending VMworld every year is seeing what is new on the horizon and this year, ironically, there is something called Project Horizon and the first milestone of that project called VMware Horizon Application Manager. Horizon is a hosted service that will centrally manage the provisioning, access and usage of software-as-a-server (SaaS) applications while at the same time applying the companies standardized security and access controls. This will give the end users of the application the ability to use the applications via VMware ThinApp or View products to stream the application across multiple devices all with a single login. The end users will also have self-service access to a corporate store for their SaaS and Web-based applications. Managing these applications will be completely user based with no need to worry about the underlying device the software or application is running on.