Editing Provisioning (technology) (section)

==User provisioning==
{{further|User provisioning software}}
User provisioning refers to the creation, maintenance and deactivation of user objects and user attributes, as they exist in one or more systems, directories or applications, in response to automated or interactive business processes.  User provisioning software may include one or more of the following processes: change propagation, self-service [[workflow]], consolidated user administration, delegated user administration, and federated change control.  User objects may represent employees, contractors, vendors, partners, customers or other recipients of a service.  Services may include [[electronic mail]], inclusion in a published [[directory service|user directory]], access to a [[database]], access to a network or mainframe, etc.  User provisioning is a type of [[identity management]] software, particularly useful within organizations, where users may be represented by multiple objects on multiple systems and multiple instances.