Account Correlation
Account Correlation is the process of linking discovered accounts in target systems to the correct digital identity in the IAM system.
Definition
Account Correlation is the process by which an IAM platform determines which discovered account in a connected system belongs to which identity record in the enterprise identity model. Correlation may rely on identifiers such as employee ID, email address, HR key, immutable IDs, login names, or composite matching logic. It is essential during reconciliation, application onboarding, legacy cleanup, mergers, and scenarios where accounts exist before central IAM governance. Incorrect correlation can lead to dangerous outcomes such as assigning one user another user's access history or failing to detect orphan accounts.
Why it matters
Without reliable account correlation, provisioning and deprovisioning cannot be governed accurately across connected systems.
The Ariovis perspective
Reliable lifecycle and access decisions depend on trusted identifiers, clearly owned sources and controlled data quality. Automation should not accelerate inconsistent data.
Related services
Common pitfalls
- A frequent pitfall is relying on unstable or non-unique matching attributes such as display names or loosely governed email aliases.
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