What is OpenID?
According to OpenID.net…
“OpenID eliminates the need for multiple usernames across different websites…”
Earlier in the week I stipluated User Identity and Account Management as requirements for a CRM.
- Host sign-up pages where customers can create an account, and select a level of membership (some levels require payment)
- User account self management: password changes and resets, update details, cancel account, submit help request.
- User login – Would we accept users authenticated at and redirected from the CRM site? Or would we query the CRM site with each user credentials? Alternatively, a push of a new/updated user from the CRM site (via HTTP request) to our web site would do, so that we can maintain a copy.
As it happens, Web Identity and Acces Management (IAM) is a topic close to my heart, something I have had a lot of dealings with over the last seven years, in a major enterprise environment.
As the week has progressed, I have spent some time thinking about this – and I have come to the point of view that IAM would sit no better in the CRM provider than it would in the final product / service / web site.
If I were to rely upon the CRM provider for user account management, then I would essentially be relying on them for authentication methods, account maintenance pages etc… indeed for anything else I ever want to offer those users in the future. This is what I often refer to as vendor lock in, and is something I actively try to avoid.
Enter Open ID
Open ID is not a product, or a service – or even a solution for all of the above. It does however contain what I believe to be a solution to at least some of the above requirements.
Open ID is fairly new, and a version 2 of the standard has recently been agreed. Also, there are very few full server implementations that I have seen – however there are some pretty good librarys availabe to get you underway.
None of this provides the account management, but by adopting Open ID I will have a user store that is independent of any particular website, allowing members to access any or all of them under the one account.
Also, I will have a platform upon which to build the account creation pages mentioned above, and I may even be able to leverage off of something already in existence.