title: What are the differences between Web Access Management (WAM) and Identity Management(IdM)?
body: <p>I'm researching about CA Single Sign-On software (formerly CA SiteMinder®) and came across with two new definitions to me:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Web Access Management (WAM)</li>
  <li>Identity Management (IdM)</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>On Wikipedia state these definitions:</p>
  
  <p><strong>IdM</strong>: "<em>In computing, identity management (IdM) describes the management of individual principals, their <strong>authentication</strong>, <strong>authorization</strong>, and <strong>privileges</strong> within or across system and enterprise boundaries with the goal of increasing security and productivity while decreasing cost, downtime and repetitive tasks.</em>"</p>
  
  <p><strong>WAM</strong>: "<em>Web access management is a form of identity management that controls access to web resources, providing <strong>authentication</strong> management, policy-based <strong>authorizations</strong>, audit and reporting services (optional) and single sign-on convenience</em>".</p>
  
  <p>Despite of these two definitions seem to be clear, the more I read about them the more confused I am because I don't catch what tasks are exclusively of WAM and what of IdM. Where are boundaries? In what moment do they interact? Who is on charge of SSO? Both definitions talk about <strong>authorization</strong> and <strong>authentication</strong> and that confuses me.</p>
  
  <p>I'm asking this because according to <a href="http://www.liferay.com/community/wiki/-/wiki/Main/CA+SiteMinder+Integration" rel="nofollow">Liferay Wiki</a> "<em>Computer Associate’s (CA) SiteMinder is a centralized <strong>web access management system</strong> that enables user authentication and single sign-on, policy-based authorization, identity federation, and auditing of access to Web applications and portals.</em>"</p>
  
  <p>If you reach <a href="https://support.ca.com/cadocs/0/CA%20SiteMinder%2012%2052-ENU/Bookshelf_Files/HTML/idocs/index.htm?toc.htm?sm-impl.html" rel="nofollow">"Architectural Use Cases: Simple Deployment"</a> section (Implementation Guide -> Architectural Considerations) you'll see a diagram. If CA SiteMinder is a WAM: why does it do Authorization and Authentication? Do not are those tasks belong to an IdM? Is CA SSO also an Identity Access Manager? Then why does exist a product called CA Identity Manager?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks.</p>
  
  <p>PS: Feel free to correct any grammar or semantic mistake, I'm not English-Speaking ;-)</p>