Source of Authority
A Source of Authority is the system recognized as authoritative for a given identity data domain or lifecycle fact.
- Acronym
- SoA
- Synonym
- Authoritative SourceSource of Truth
Definition
A Source of Authority is the system designated as the trusted origin for a specific category of identity information, such as legal name, employment status, organizational unit, manager, vendor affiliation, or external partner status. In provisioning architectures, different data domains may have different authoritative sources. For example, HR may be authoritative for workforce employment facts, while a contractor platform governs third-party identities and a learning system governs training completion status. Defining authority correctly is essential for lifecycle logic, reconciliation, conflict handling, and governance. Without it, systems easily fall into ambiguity, overwrite conflicts, and mistrust of data. Note: in the broader IT and security industry, the acronym SoA most often refers to a "Statement of Applicability" in the ISO 27001 context. In this glossary, SoA refers specifically to "Source of Authority" in an IAM context — the more widely recognized synonym is "Authoritative Source".
Why it matters
Provisioning quality depends on knowing which system is actually allowed to assert which identity facts.
The Ariovis perspective
A source is authoritative only for clearly defined attributes and events. Ariovis clarifies ownership and reconciliation rules instead of assuming that one system is universally correct.
Related services
Common pitfalls
- A common pitfall is talking about a single global source of truth when authority is actually fragmented across several business domains.
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