Overview
This article provides a collection of information, resources, tools, and best practices for deploying File Access Manager (formerly known as SecurityIQ).
Project phases
The recommended methodology for deploying a File Access Manager project comprises four phases:
- Pre-Kickoff
- Visibility
- Control
- Transition
Pre-Kickoff
The Pre-Kickoff phase is focused on preparing for the initial install and configuration of File Access Manager.
This phase typically lasts 1-2 weeks, and includes activities similar to the following:
- Pre-project setup and project manager tasks
- Introduction call with customer
- Hardware sizing and setup
- Project kickoff planning
- Prerequisite planning and verification
- Drafting the project plan and status report template
Visibility
The Visibility phase is focused on the initial install/config of File Access Manager, requirements gathering, and data/permissions collection.
The timeline for this phase is approximately 2-4 weeks, and includes:
- Project kickoff
- Installing the product and connecting to end-points
- Performing basic configuration
- Initial data gathering
- Permissions scanning
- Activity collection
- Data classification scanning
- Data analysis and reporting on findings
- Identifying sensitive data
Control
The Control phase is focused on the setup of on-going reports and controls.
The timeline for this phase is approximately 2-4 weeks, and includes:
- Implementing controls based on requirements such as:
- Analyzing data from permissions, activity, and sensitive data
- Creating the necessary reports and alerts. These may include:
-
Permissions Reports showing over-exposed resources, direct users permissions, and local administrators
-
Activities Reports showing privileged users activities or alerts configured to be triggered on high-risk activities
- Customer-Specific Reports
- Scheduling all on-going tasks
Transition
Once the Visibility and Control phases are complete, additional components and use cases can be implemented.
The timeline for this phase varies from project to project, and can include activities such as:
- Adding more end-points for permissions collection and/or activity monitoring
- Data classification
- Setting up additional File Access Manager use cases such as:
- Access review/request
- Data owner elections
- Normalization
- Policies or customer-specific use cases
- Listing all unclassified documents
- Alerting of access to a sensitive file/folder
- Alerting on permissions changes
- Integration with IdentityIQ
- Testing and documentation such as:
- Maintenance procedures
- Runbook
- Transition to the support organization
Project/partner best practices
SailPoint recommends these best practices for partner projects:
- Engage SailPoint for partner enablement (training + shadowing). Don’t do it alone.
- Clearly understand File Access Manager product capabilities. Plan your projects accordingly.
- Build the right team with the right skill sets. File Access Manager is a unique product.
- Phased deployments work best for File Access Manager. Start with the Best Practices Deployment, show value, and expand from there.
- Always conduct a thorough Sales/SE–to–Professional Services handoff before the project starts.
- Verify prerequisites, and don’t start until the team is ready. Use the pre-requisite guide referenced in this article.
- Even after your team is enabled, engage SailPoint Professional Services (Expert Services and Governance)
- Leverage SailPoint knowledge, training/enablement, best practices, and the Compass community
Training options
SailPoint offers classroom based, instructor-led remote, and self-paced eLearning training courses for File Access Manager. The current course offerings for File Access Manager are:
- File Access Manager Introduction: This online course provides an overview of SailPoint’s SecurityIQ product, which helps organizations perform identity governance over their unstructured data resources.
- File Access Manager Implementation and Administration: This online course is targeted at prospective technical members of a SecurityIQ implementation team and administrators of a SecurityIQ implementation. It provides a specific focus on hands-on learning.
Details about these courses, and a course schedule, are here: Identity University
Classroom based training options for File Access Manager
Classroom-based, instructor-led File Access Manager training can be offered at your site. We recommend this option if you plan on training more than 6 people in one class. SailPoint will bring the 4-day course to you, saving you travel costs and time. Contact your Partner Manager or Customer Success Manager to learn about pricing and schedule a course.
File Access Manager office hours
SailPoint also offers regularly-scheduled webinars for File Access Manager that highlight the many features File Access Manager has to offer. These webinarsare offered at a variety of dates and times friendly to North American, European, and APAC time zones.
