Identity Access Management (IAM) is now one of the foundations of information system security and governance. Behind this term lies a very concrete reality: an organization’s ability to precisely control who can access what, when, and under which conditions.
At Clever Cloud, these challenges are approached from a resolutely operational perspective. As a European provider of managed cloud services, Clever Cloud has been supporting public and private organizations for over ten years as they face strong requirements in terms of security, compliance, cost control, and skills management. The Keycloak as a Service offering is a direct extension of this hands-on experience.
Identity Access Management: an operational reality before a concept
An Identity Access Management system is not limited to user authentication. It structures access to applications, APIs, and data as a whole.
In practical terms, an effective IAM makes it possible to:
- reliably identify users and services;
- apply consistent and auditable access rules;
- centralize authentication and authorization;
- track access to meet security and compliance requirements.
In modern environments, where internal applications, cloud services, partners, and customers coexist, IAM quickly becomes a critical control point. Any weakness at this level has immediate consequences, both for security and service continuity.
Security, compliance, costs: why IAM has become strategic
Feedback from the field is clear: a significant proportion of security incidents originate from identity or poorly configured access rights. Dormant accounts, excessive permissions, lack of traceability—these are common situations when access management is fragmented.
From a regulatory standpoint, organizations must be able to demonstrate their ability to control and justify access to data. GDPR, NIS2, and upcoming obligations related to AI all require rigorous identity governance.
Added to this are very concrete challenges around skills and budget management. Operating an IAM solution in-house requires trained, available teams capable of keeping up with rapidly evolving security standards. Conversely, some proprietary offerings can create strong vendor lock-in and pricing models that are difficult to predict.
IAM has therefore become a board-level topic as much as a technical one.
Keycloak: a proven open source standard
Keycloak has established itself as one of the leading open source solutions for Identity Access Management. Widely used by companies, public administrations, and software vendors, it is built on broadly adopted open standards.
Keycloak notably covers:
- Single Sign-On (SSO);
- identity federation with existing directories or external providers;
- multi-factor authentication;
- fine-grained role and permission management;
- native integration with OAuth2, OpenID Connect, and SAML.
Its open source nature provides full transparency into security mechanisms and avoids technological lock-in. This is a decisive factor for organizations that want to retain long-term control over their IAM.
The limits of self-hosted Keycloak
In practice, deploying Keycloak is only the first step. Running it under production conditions quickly raises fundamental questions:
- high availability and resilience;
- regular updates and security patches;
- backups and restoration;
- monitoring and incident management;
- securing the underlying infrastructure.
These topics require specific expertise and operational time. For many teams, they become a constraint—or even a risk.
Keycloak as a Service by Clever Cloud: expertise applied to IAM
With Keycloak as a Service, Clever Cloud brings its experience as a managed cloud operator to IAM. The solution is based on standard Keycloak, without proprietary modifications, and runs in a hosting environment designed for critical workloads.
Clever Cloud takes care of all operational aspects: hosting, updates, monitoring, backups, and availability. Customer teams remain in control of functional configuration, access rules, and application integrations.
This clear split of responsibilities secures usage while keeping costs and required skills under control.
European hosting and digital trust
Identity data is among the most sensitive data in an information system. Its hosting and processing cannot be left to chance.
Keycloak as a Service is operated on European infrastructures, within a framework compliant with applicable regulatory requirements. This approach ensures better data control, increased transparency, and essential auditability for organizations under strict constraints.
Open source plays a central role here: it makes it possible to understand, verify, and evolve security mechanisms without relying on a technological black box.
An IAM building block for modern architectures
Keycloak as a Service integrates naturally into cloud-native architectures, whether for web applications, microservices, or APIs.
It unifies access management across heterogeneous applications, simplifies the user experience through SSO, and strengthens the overall consistency of the information system.
For technical teams and decision-makers alike, this translates into better visibility, reduced risk, and more robust access governance.
A live demo is scheduled for February 26 at 1 p.m. on Twitch and YouTube, hosted by Horacio Gonzalez and Mathieu Passenaud from Please Open It.
Frequently asked questions about Identity Access Management
What is an Identity Access Management solution used for in practice?
An Identity Access Management solution centralizes and secures access to applications, services, and data. It ensures that each user or service has only the rights it needs, while providing full traceability of access. IAM is both a security, compliance, and information system governance tool.
What is the difference between IAM and simple authentication?
Authentication addresses only part of the problem: verifying a user’s identity. Identity Access Management goes further by managing authorizations, roles, identity federation, account lifecycle, and access auditing. This holistic view is what makes it possible to secure complex environments.
Why choose an open source IAM solution like Keycloak?
An open source solution like Keycloak is based on open and transparent standards. It helps avoid vendor lock-in, provides a better understanding of security mechanisms, and preserves long-term evolution capabilities. This is particularly relevant for organizations concerned with technological control and compliance.
Is Keycloak suitable for complex enterprise environments?
Yes. Keycloak is widely used in enterprise contexts, including distributed and multi-application architectures. It integrates with existing directories, supports strong authentication, and enables fine-grained management of roles and permissions.
Why choose managed Keycloak rather than self-hosting?
Managed Keycloak allows organizations to benefit from the solution without bearing operational complexity. Hosting, updates, security, availability, and backups are handled by the operator. Teams can focus on use cases, functional configuration, and application integrations.
Where is identity data hosted with Keycloak as a Service?
With Keycloak as a Service, identity data is hosted on French infrastructures operated by Clever Cloud. This ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and strengthens control over sensitive data.