Identity management is the process of authenticating users to find the access that they have. It will help the individual to get access to the system which they are authorized. Identity management is focused on authentication.
Computers these days are capable of handling multiple users at a single time. Data of multiple users are stored on a single database and they are managed with proper access control. The process of verifying the identity of users by matching the credential provided is called authentication.
The main function of authentication is to grant the right access to the right person at the right time so that there will not be any unauthorized access on the system. Different people in any organization will have different role and functions so they will have different access right and identity management is to ensure that the users only get access to the system that is assigned to them. Authentication works by providing the proof of its identity to the server by a client, generally, username and password are used a proof of identity. Authentication doesn't identify the role and permission that is assigned to the user there will be a different process for that and it's called authorization.
User authentication is very important for any enterprise and individual to enhance network, application and data security, reduce fraud and other risks. It is critical for the security of the computer systems because without the proper authentication we canned decide whether the requested operation should be allowed or not.
Identity management can be done either with single-factor authentication or with multi-factor authentication. In a single factor authentication, access will be granted once the user inputs the credential like a password. But in multi-factor authentication, two or more credential must be verified to get access on the system. The goal of multi-factor authentication is to reduce the risk of information being accessed by an unauthorized person. If one factor is compromised, then the attacker must submit one more credential which reduces the chances of unauthorized access in case of a password or another provided credential is compromised.