20 years FirstAttribute – A review
FirstAttribute was formed in 2001 by the company’s founder Andreas Martin.
20 exciting years full of hands-on experience have passed since then. From a niche expert to an IAM cloud service provider – read about our journey here.
Foundation of FirstAttribute in 2001
The year 2001 is the birth year of FirstAttribute AG. Together with his partners at that time, Andreas Martin set himself the goal of helping companies with
- the introduction of comprehensive directory services and
- the development of directory enabled applications.
At the same time, fair partnership was rated as particularly important.
Already at a young age, the founder of FirstAttribute had the idea to create a company that combines user orientation with something completely new.
Open-minded by nature, creative and courageous, Andreas Martin consistently focused on his vision to put the user in the spotlight.
Successful start with TÜV Süd project
The first project was a great success. Andreas Martin was able to win TÜV SÜD as a customer and, together with a partner, implemented the standardization and consolidation of the TÜV SÜD Group.
At that time, TÜV Süd’s corporate network comprised a total of around 400 locations. The goal was to establish a group standard across the entire corporate IT – from the PC workstation and servers to the IP network and applications. In this way, the highly heterogeneous systems in the individual companies were to be standardized. Read the whole story in the article of the Computerwoche (in German).
Due to the successful project management, TÜV Süd is one of the long-term customers of FirstAttribute AG to this day.
Other major customers followed promptly
The first years of FirstAttribute were characterized by continuous growth. Large organizations, such as ADAC, BASF, BGW, INA Schaeffler Group or Vattenfall trusted in the expertise of our company.
Thanks to an excellent team of experts in Active Directory and migrations, FirstAttribute quickly built a reputation as a much sought-after niche expert.
Focus on self-management of identities
With an influx of new projects, the understanding of future-oriented topics in IT also increased significantly within the FirstAttribute team. For instance, customer requirements in the area of
- self-management of identities and
- authorization
increased sharply. As a specialist in Active Directory, FirstAttribute was ideally placed to tackle these issues.
The goal was to simplify AD user administration and authorizations in such a way that non-IT departments could take the administration of their employees into their own hands. This was to finally lift the concept of identity management out of IT and make it accessible to a broader audience.
A growing team of software developers in Dresden worked in parallel for years on solutions to simplify AD administration and to make it delegable. The cumulative experience of the consultants, developers and marketing team was incorporated into the product developments.
Birth of IDM-Portal
This motivation led to the continuous development and refinement of the company’s own Identity & Access Management (IAM) software.
Accordingly, 2014 saw the launch of FirstWare IDM-Portal.
IDM-Portal back then
The IDM-Portal was an IAM solution that focused primarily on user and access rights management by the non-IT employee – an innovative approach that only a few competitors were taking in 2014. FirstAttribute relegated the technical complexity of IAM systems to the background. Instead, it prioritized user-friendliness, making the software beneficial and usable for many non-IT departments.
IDM-Portal today
Today, IDM-Portal is widely used by medium-sized and large companies with up to 40,000 users. It covers all levels, from a standard employee portal to an integrative and comprehensive IAM solution.
The topics of cloud and hybrid IT landscapes are now just as integrated in IDM-Portal as the continuous development of the software application. It fits perfectly into a Microsoft hybrid infrastructure consisting of AD and AAD.
Only the user focus has remained as a stable component and orientation benchmark.
Breaking new ground together
Change and innovation unsettle and inspire us in equal ways.
For the values of FirstAttribute, consisting of
- user orientation and
- the collaborative and trusting approach with our customers, partners and employees,
give us the confidence and security we need to take new steps.
At the same time, in 2018, we have given ourselves a new home in the countryside and near the beautiful lake Ammersee, at the gates of Munich. In keeping with the times, we have put together the old building material of wood in a novel way, giving us a new home for the future.
FirstAttribute’s transition
Only those who are able to adapt and think ahead can be successful in the long term. This is also our approach:
Innovativeness and user orientation are anchored in our DNA.
In the midst of major changes in the IT landscape, FirstAttribute stands on firm ground. We focus on our core competencies:
- IDM-Portal and
- our new cloud service my-IAM
In this way, we provide our customers with the best possible support in times of change. For support during the transition, we have an established and trusted partner network at our side.
my-IAM cloud service
Our new my-IAM cloud service helps customers and users of Microsoft Teams with their identity and authorization management.
Topics such as:
- mobility,
- agility,
- governance and
- compliance
come together in my-IAM and support the change driven by digitalization.
A look ahead
Now and in the future, we want to be the best partner for our customers for innovative and user-oriented IAM solutions.
With a motivated team, we set ourselves ambitious objectives. We are attentive and open to the constant changes in our industry.
Venturing new things is only possible in a trusting partnership with customers, partners and employees. This is why partnership is also our top priority now, as it was back in 2001.
