TIM- Adé!
TIM(e) to say goodbye!
Last year, we faced the decision to shut down our beloved Tivoli Identity Management System (TIM- Tivoli Identity Management System) and replace it with a new system (MIM- Microsoft Identity Manager).
But what remains after this shutdown?
What remains is your username, still known as TIM identifier.
Only the TIM identifier will be replaced by username, because the identifier has nothing to do with the TIM anymore.
The surely catchy name "TIM identifier" from the name of the underlying software was obvious at that time. However, software changes and with it its name - basic IDs, however, not necessarily. And already you have an abbreviation that everyone questions, but for which there is no longer any meaningful explanation. Most systems (especially bought-in ones) ask for a "user name" when authenticating - and that's exactly what the TIM ID is and always was. Now it is also called that. In itself, the username is the one part of a secret that the user uses to claim, "That's me" - which they prove with the associated password. To make it as easy as possible for users, the same username is used in all accounts managed via IdM whenever possible. Deviations are possible, for example, in the case of mergers, when a user was registered twice in IdM.
Consequently, TIM identifier becomes the username. We say:
TIM(e) to say goodbye!
A long process is now ahead of us until the term "user name" finally replaces "TIM identifier". Who knows, maybe the TIM identifier will remain with us as a remnant here and there. But speaking of the username, we now know the background and that it is the former TIM identifier.
In the course of this shutdown, we conducted interviews with some colleagues who were instrumental in this change. They told us about the beginnings of email accounts for all, the procurement and history of the TIM system, and the migration to the new system.
Well, curious now? You can now watch the interviews on the IT Center YouTube channel.
For more information, please see our blog.