Identity Management Will Increase in Importance over Next Five Years, According to Survey of U.S. Government IT Professionals

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. & RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Quest Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: QSFT) today announced the results of its Identity Management Government Survey of federal, state, local and municipal government IT professionals conducted by Pursuant, a Washington, D.C.-based public opinion research firm. The research, commissioned by Quest Software, reveals new and significant data on government IT professionals’ perceptions on the progress of compliance with mandates such as HSPD-12, FIPS 201, and FISMA, the barriers to success, and the impact on national security, critical public infrastructure, and personal security.

“The survey casts necessary attention on the complex business and technology challenges confronting government agencies as they work to achieve identity management requirements, which will only increase in importance,” said Scott Hastings, partner at Deep Water Point and former CIO of the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice. “To bolster their business cases, government IT professionals must employ solutions that address the entire enterprise and demonstrate incremental progress in security and privacy enhancements that generate real operational benefits.”

The survey indicates that although most government IT professionals (69%) believe that identity management is “very important” to their organization or agency, even more overwhelmingly believe its importance will increase (72%) in the next five years. A large majority of government IT professionals report that their organization or agency has complied with the following steps: secured information systems (76%), secured personnel information (72%), and secured access to facilities (75%).

About 35% of government IT professionals project that their organization or agency will be compliant with government identity management mandates within the next two years, while 37% report that they “don’t know” when their organization or agency will be compliant. This response may reflect the challenges inherent in the complexity of the requirements and the difficulty experienced by respondents in juggling ongoing and unfunded identity management efforts with existing priorities.

Additional key findings of the Identity Management Government Survey include:

• A heterogeneous (mixed-application) environment is “very challenging” or “somewhat challenging” according to 51% for their organization or agency’s identity management system.
• According to a majority (53%) of respondents, national security should be the priority, even if Americans’ personal privacy is negatively impacted.
• Respondents cited lack of funding as the main obstacle that would most impact their organization or agency’s ability to reach their identity management objectives (31%). During the next five years, many (45%) think the amount budgeted for identity management projects and services will increase; very few (5%) think it will decrease.
• However, half of respondents (50%) believe Congress should provide more funding to agencies to develop and implement identity management systems; a nearly equal number (49%) believe it should require greater planning and collaboration among federal agencies and state and local governments.
• More city, county and municipal government IT professionals are likely to be “very concerned” (59%) about compromised critical public infrastructure than federal (45%) or state (38%) government IT professionals.
• Over one-half of government IT professionals (56%) have either personally seen or heard about someone violating their organization or agency’s security protocols.

“The Identity Management Government Survey reveals that the runway for government agencies is getting shorter and shorter, and this critical security concern cannot await a utopian solution,” said Paul Garver, vice president of Public Sector, Quest Software. “The most significant measure government agencies can take today is to leverage prevalent infrastructure investments, such as Microsoft Active Directory, to serve as a centralized identity repository and immediately begin working towards single/reduced sign-on.”

The Pursuant, Inc. poll of 474 respondents (margin of error +/- 4.49%) was fielded in January 2008. Respondents include U.S. federal, state, local and municipal government IT decision makers with the following job functions: C-Level Management/Command; Executive/Senior/Comptroller/Division Management; Programs/Project Management; Administration/Operation Management; and IT/IS/DP/Network/System Management. Respondents self-identified as belonging to the following governmental divisions: 315 federal government (civilian and defense); 117 state, local and municipal government; and 42 respondents did not identify an affiliation. Respondents represented at least 28 federal departments and agencies, all branches of the Defense Department, 47 states and the District of Columbia.

For more information about Quest Software, or to download a copy of the Identity Management Government Survey, please visit http://www.quest.com/public-sector/.

About Quest Software, Inc.

Quest Software, Inc. delivers innovative products that help organizations get more performance and productivity from their applications, databases and Windows infrastructure. Through a deep expertise in IT operations and a continued focus on what works best, Quest helps more than 50,000 customers worldwide meet higher expectations for enterprise IT. Quest’s Windows Management solutions simplify, automate and secure Active Directory, Exchange and Windows, as well as integrate Unix, Linux and Java into the managed environment. Quest Software can be found in offices around the globe and at www.quest.com.

About Pursuant

Pursuant, Inc. is an independent, full-service public opinion research firm that provides qualitative and quantitative research-based solutions. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Pursuant is well known for its opinion research which continues to offer critical insight into complex issues facing government, corporations and non-profits, and has been prominently featured in print, broadcast and online media both nationally and around the globe. The firm, a contractor on the U.S. General Services Administration Schedule, has conducted studies funded by the USDA, Treasury Department and Department of Health and Human Services. For additional information, please visit: http://www.pursuantresearch.com.

Quest, Quest Software and the Quest logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Quest Software in the United States and certain other countries. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Web Links Referenced in this Release:
Quest Software, Inc. – www.quest.com