Microsoft on Monday launched the second beta of its claims-based identity management server platform, code-named "Geneva." The Geneva Server, previously referred to as the "Zermatt" project, runs a security token service that issues and transforms claims to help manage user identities for authentication...Geneva is a critical component in bridging Microsoft's cloud-based Azure Services Platform and its own Active Directory with other federated identity management platforms. "Geneva's our open platform for providing simplified user access to applications and systems, whether they are on-premise or in the cloud," said Brendan Foley, group product manager at Microsoft, in a phone interview.
Geneva Server is one part of Microsoft's identity platform; Microsoft also provides the Geneva Framework to help developers build claims-aware .NET applications and externalize authentication from the application. The other key component of the Geneva platform is Windows CardSpace, part of the .NET 3.5 Framework, which helps users navigate access decisions.
Microsoft is planning to release the final Geneva Server product in the second half of 2009. The release may occur in the fall, near this year's PDC, according to Gerry Gebel, an analyst at the Burton Group. Geneva Framework and CardSpace likely will soon follow the release of Geneva Server, he added.
Geneva faces competition in the market, including a number of open source options. However, if Microsoft makes it easy for users to migrate to the product, "it should have a pretty large impact," Gebel said.
"I think it will have a bigger impact than ADFS [Active Directory Federation Services] did because Geneva does support the SAML [Secure Assertion Markup Language] protocol and the Geneva model is a part of a bigger claims-based authorization philosophy that Microsoft is promoting. And thirdly, it's also a big part of the Azure picture. As Microsoft hosts SharePoint and Exchange, where you can build your own apps using Azure, Geneva is going to be a critical component for creating access to those applications from your on-premises environment," Gebel said...
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