Quick start
A 15-minute orientation: the mental model, the objects you will touch first, and the shortest path to a working demo environment.
Start by loading identities from an authoritative source, connecting one application, aggregating its accounts, and correlating them to identities. That single loop is what everything else in SailPoint builds on.
- Load identities from an authoritative source (usually HR)
- Connect one application and aggregate its accounts
- Correlate accounts to identities to build cubes
- Then layer roles, certifications and provisioning
This quick start is a fifteen-minute orientation to how SailPoint actually works, the mental model and the shortest path to a working demonstration. Master this single loop and the rest of the course slots into place, because almost everything SailPoint does is an elaboration of it.
The mental model
SailPoint is person-centric. It builds an identity for each person, links all their accounts from every system to that identity, and then governs the access those accounts represent, reviewing it, requesting it, provisioning it, and removing it as people join, move and leave.
The shortest working loop
Every deployment starts the same way. Get this loop working and you have a functioning governance base:
- 1. Configure the authoritative source (usually HR) that says who exists.
- 2. Run identity aggregation to create an identity cube for each person.
- 3. Connect a target application (Active Directory is the classic first target).
- 4. Aggregate its accounts and correlate them to the right identities.
- 5. Review the cubes, each person now shows their linked accounts and entitlements.
What to learn next
With cubes populated, the natural progression is: roles (group entitlements into business-meaningful units), lifecycle events (automate joiner/mover/leaver), and certifications (periodic access review). The rest of this course follows exactly that arc, from concepts, through the objects and flows, to real projects.
The objects you will touch first
Identity, Application/Source, Link (account), Entitlement, and Role. Everything else, policies, workflows, certifications, operates on these. Getting comfortable with this handful is the fastest way in.
Common pitfalls
- Connecting targets before the authoritative source, so there are no identities to correlate to.
- Skipping the identity refresh after aggregation.
- Trying to boil the ocean, start with one source and one target, then expand.