In Bandit Country

I am getting seriously interested in enterprise open source currently (sad, I know), and it is extraordinary the efflorescence of software in this area. I think that it is quite realistic to look forward to some time in the not-too-distant future when open source will be able to meet all the needs of even the largest enterprise.

If there's one crucial area where open source is weak, it is in identity management. Whatever application you are deploying, you have got to be able to control access, and this is partly a matter of managing identity. It is an area where Microsoft is very strong: replacing Active Directory is probably one of the thorniest problems for anyone contemplating a move to an open source platform.

So it's good to see that Novell is sponsoring a project called Bandit, which seems to be addressing this issue. Interestingly, it fits in with Higgins, which I wrote about a little while ago. Clearly, there's lots of work to do if Active Directory is to be matched, but a least there may now be a framework for doing it.