The majority of identity and access management projects are failing to meet expectations because project leaders are too focussed on technology, reports consultancy firm KPMG.

Research by KPMG suggests that the number of identity management projects underway within European enterprises in rising. But more than two-thirds of respondents said the effectiveness of those projects is being hampered by the focus on technology.

Just 11 per cent said they were fully satisfied with their identity management projects.

The common misconception is that IAM is about dealing with user-ids and passwords," said Malcolm Marshall, partner in charge of information security services at KPMG UK in a statement. "IAM is 80 per cent process, policy and governance and 20 per cent technology."

KPMG also reported the most common reasons for initiating an access management programme was to meet compliance requirements and to improve organisational risk management.

The research surveyed the opinions of business leaders, including a mixture of chief executives, chief information officers and security officers at 235 European enterprises. All participants had started one or more information access management projects in their organisation within the last three years.