Deloitte Canada and Omada team up to corner 'IdaaS' market

Big Four consultancy Deloitte Canada has formed a strategic partnership with IT security solutions firm Omada. The partnership will combine Deloitte’s advisory and implementation expertise with Copenhagen-based Omada’s identity management and access governance platform.

Firms are under increasing pressure to boost the security of their information technology systems. The threat of cyberattacks and data breaches – as well as the need for regulatory compliance – is causing firms to look for effective digital security solutions.

One important areas is that of access governance, which governs what information/resources different actors in an organization have access to. IT administrators will make sure that the various individuals can get to information they need, but that sensitive information is restricted to the appropriate users. Access governance (AG) has grown in importance amid a heightened awareness of insider threat, as well as an increased emphasis on regulatory compliance: with a well-managed system, firms can point to who had access to specific info at which time.

Identity management is a related field wherein individuals are effectively identified and authenticated in order to access the organization’s IT system. Together, identity management and access governance make sure that the user is who they say they are, and that they only have access to the appropriate resources. The provision of this as an IT service is referred to as IdaaS – ‘identity management and access governance as-a-service.’Last month, Deloitte Canada announced that it was forming a strategic alliance with Copenhagen-based Omada – a market leading provider of identity management and access governance solutions. The Big Four accounting and consulting firm’s advisory and implementation expertise will be united with Omada’s identity management and access governance software platform to provide a leading IdaaS offering.

“The Omada software, paired with Deloitte’s full service advisory solution means we have lowered the entry point to identity and access management, making it easy, structured, and widely available for our joint clients,” said Veronika Westerlund, Omada Global VP of Channels and Alliances. “This is a solution our clients can sign up for to provide attainable compliance, security, and efficiency without the need to assemble a solution themselves.”

The collaborative Idaas offering will allow clients to benefit from advanced functionality, simpler deployment, and a low total cost of ownership. Deloitte Canada – which has 55 offices and over 8,000 staff – will advise clients with strategy and implementation of the Omada product.

Omada, which was founded in 2000 in Denmark, has no Canadian offices – though it does have two in the United States. The IT security solutions firm also has locations in Germany and the UK. The company was named IT Company of the Year 2004 by IDG Computer World, and has also been named an ‘International Growth Comet’ by MIT.

Commenting on the alliance, Deloitte Canada Partner Daniella Toledano said, “Our collaboration with Omada responds to an urgent need in the market for a solution which lowers the hurdle for companies to ensure security, efficiency, and compliance. Pairing Omada’s highly rated identity management and access governance solution with our leading Deloitte advisory services offers a valuable and triumphant combination for our clients.”