The Municipality of Rotterdam is rapidly developing into one of the most digital public authorities in the Netherlands. Behind this ambition lies a huge identity challenge. Because how do you provide citizens, businesses, and employees with secure and reliable access to digital services? Stefan van Ingen works on the answer to that question every day. “Reliable, privacy-friendly, and secure digital services for employees, citizens, and businesses, that’s what we do it for,” says Van Ingen.

As Product Manager Identity & Access Management, he is responsible for all solutions related to digital identities and access. Van Ingen explains: “That ranges from access for employees and people who are not on our payroll to Privileged Access Management for people with additional or elevated rights. In addition, my colleagues and I are responsible for access for citizens and businesses, as well as non-human identities, also known as machines.”

Identity management and access management are prerequisites for good, secure services. Van Ingen: “Who are you? Are you really who you say you are? What are you allowed to do and why? That’s what it’s all about.” This requires a structured approach in a large and complex organization such as the Municipality of Rotterdam, with around 675,000 residents, more than 150,000 businesses, and 18,000 employees. And you can easily add another one and a half million machine identities from laptops, phones, and other devices. Van Ingen: “Identifying all those identities and managing access rights and ownership is a complex challenge.”

Step 1: CyberArk for PAM

Partly for this reason, Rotterdam wanted to take steps in the areas of Privileged Access Management (PAM) and Identity Governance & Administration (IGA). For PAM, the municipality chose CyberArk; for IGA, SailPoint. The first steps in the implementation phase did not go smoothly for various reasons. To get things moving again, Van Ingen partnered with SITS|Traxion, initially only for the implementation of CyberArk.

“I told the people at SITS|Traxion: ‘I need a business success quickly. Do your thing, but make sure you take everyone along.’ That went very well; CyberArk was live in no time. It became a success because SITS|Traxion immediately connected with the operations organization. There were no management layers or language barriers; you speak directly and in your own language with the people who do the work. That makes everything easier. From day one, we worked together smoothly. As a result, trust among our people grew very quickly.”

“It became a success because SITS|Traxion immediately connected with the operations organization. There were no management layers or language barriers; you speak directly and in your own language with the people who do the work. That makes everything easier. From day one, we worked together smoothly. As a result, trust among our people grew very quickly.”

– Stefan Van Ingen –

Step 2: SailPoint for IGA

After the smooth implementation of CyberArk, the second, considerably larger, assignment followed: the implementation of the IGA solution SailPoint. SailPoint automates the management of digital identities within an organization. The solution determines who gets access to which applications, with which rights, and under what conditions.

Implementing SailPoint was more challenging than CyberArk, Van Ingen confirms. “The Active Directory administrators in particular were critical. Once everyone was on board and the SITS|Traxion consultants gained access to the production environment, things started moving. The administrators know the organization; the partner brings the expertise. When those two work together, you gain speed.”

The first system integrated with SailPoint was the HR environment. The data in that system is essential for determining which employees join, move within, or leave the organization, and which roles they have. After the HR system, many other applications quickly followed. The end is still far from in sight. Van Ingen: “At the moment, we’ve connected roughly twenty applications. We’re only just getting started; in total, we’re talking about more than a thousand applications.”

“The Active Directory administrators in particular were critical. Once everyone was on board and the SITS|Traxion consultants gained access to the production environment, things started moving. The administrators know the organization; the partner brings the expertise. When those two work together, you gain speed.”

– Stefan Van Ingen –

Hand in hand

Van Ingen is pleased with the collaboration. “I strongly believe in partnership. That is much more than a contract. Partnership is about give and take. SITS|Traxion stands beside us as a partner. We celebrate successes together and tackle setbacks together.”

The culture at SITS|Traxion aligns well with that of the municipality. “They do what they say, without fuss. We work together openly and honestly. I can call my contact at SITS|Traxion and give my unfiltered opinion. And the same happens the other way around. That really appeals to me.”

The Municipality of Rotterdam relies heavily on SITS|Traxion. That is a risk, Van Ingen acknowledges. “For every SITS|Traxion employee currently working here, we should have a Rotterdam counterpart. But to be honest: it takes at least two years before someone reaches sixty percent of the level of a SITS|Traxion consultant.” For the time being, the people of SITS|Traxion are still very much needed in the city on the Maas, he concludes. “Hand in hand, we embark on this adventure together.”

“They do what they say, without fuss. We work together openly and honestly. I can call my contact at SITS|Traxion and give my unfiltered opinion. And the same happens the other way around. That really appeals to me.”

– Stefan Van Ingen –

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