Email message to EDUCAUSE IdM list, to be forwarded and repurposed as needed for other audiences:

Subject:  OSIdM4HE collaboration on open-source IAM software

Folks on the EDUCAUSE IdM list may have heard rumors about discussions regarding ambitious plans for building out new capabilities in open-source IAM products for higher education and research.  Discussions have indeed been happening; those of us involved figure that now is a good time to let the community know what's going on and what we intend to happen next.

This note is the shorter version.  For more of the story go to https://spaces.at.internet2.edu/x/HpeKAQ

There are several motivations that led to these discussions:  (1) new requirements on campus IAM systems, including new populations, cloud integration, assurance, compliance, privacy, federation, etc.;  (2) dissatisfaction of many campuses with current commercial IAM products; (3) the fact that popular open-source IAM software does not form a coherent IAM suite; (4) new requirements for Kuali Rice, from the major Kuali applications and other sources, motivating more "enterprise" capabilities for the Kuali Identity Management (KIM) component of Rice.  Regular readers of the EDUCAUSE IdM list will be familiar with many of these drivers.

A small group met at the colocated Jasig / InCommon ACAMP meetings in Denver in May 2011 and determined that there was interest from several organizations in working together.  The next step was a workshop last week in Chicago to further build consensus and analyze the problem space.  15 people, representing the Kuali Foundation, Internet2/InCommon, Jasig, and several universities, met for two days. 

This group first divided the IAM space into functional areas, identifying gaps and overlaps in the current HE open-source product scene. Subgroups were chartered to further analyze several of these areas, and make recommendations to align current efforts and fill existing gaps. Another subgroup was chartered with developing the organizational structure needed to oversee the initiative. Charged to report back by mid-September, these subgroups will create well-defined proposals to submit to constituent organizations and universities for resourcing.

We know that many people are likely to be interested in this activity, and want to follow it more closely or even participate.  But for now, it remains invitation-only while the core group plans the next steps.  Also please note that at this time it is just a planning activity; progress on actually building things is subject to investment decisions from many players, and further input from the community.

If you have questions you can contact the group at osidm4he-info@internet2.edu .  We welcome discussion on the EDUCAUSE IdM list.