Whether it’s logging into email, provisioning a virtual machine, or accessing a CRM platform, Identity and Access Management (IAM) is the digital backbone of work.
Yet, as organizations grow, the controls meant to safeguard these identities often fail to keep pace with the scale, speed, and complexity of today’s environments.
A common friction point in this landscape is granting temporary access, or Just-In-Time (JIT) access, to sensitive applications. IT teams are often caught in the middle: business units expect immediate access to maintain productivity, while security teams and auditors demand zero gaps and clear trails.
This article explores a pre-built Tines workflow designed to solve this specific challenge: Grant Temporary Application Access. The workflow helps teams balance speed with security through orchestration.
The problem: scaling access equals scaling risk
"Scaling access equals scaling risk," notes Stephen McKenna, IT Operations Technician at Tines in a recent blog post on IAM orchestration. Every "joiner, mover, or leaver" event spawns a chain of changes.
In many organizations, these changes are handled manually across patchwork systems. Some applications plug into Single Sign-On (SSO) quickly, while others require manual provisioning.
When a user needs JIT access, perhaps a developer needs production access for debugging, or a contractor needs entry for a specific project, the manual process often looks like this:
Slow Response Times: The user submits a ticket, which sits in a queue until an analyst sees it.
The user submits a ticket, which sits in a queue until an analyst sees it. Permanent Privilege Creep: Once access is granted, analysts often forget to revoke it. "Temporary" access becomes permanent, leading to privilege accumulation that attackers can exploit.
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