Access management: the overlooked but critical enabler

<jats:title>Key points</jats:title><jats:p><jats:list list-type="bullet"> <jats:list-item><jats:p>Access management (AM) is a critical, but often overlooked, enabler for publishers looking to expand the appeal of their online resources.</jats:p></jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:p>This article examines why publishers underinvest in AM, and provides practical examples of how this impacts productivity and growth across the organization.</jats:p></jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:p>Three AM trends that offer new growth opportunities are also explored: (i) enabling a wider range of customer types and business models, (ii) supporting a more diverse range of access scenarios, and (iii) facilitating greater personalization through identity management.</jats:p></jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:p>Publishers need to review their AM strategy in light of these opportunities. In particular, publishers that currently support AM in‐house should outsource to specialist vendors if they are not fully committed to investing the expertise and time needed to support this increasing sophistication.</jats:p></jats:list-item> </jats:list></jats:p>