Partners, service providers, suppliers, consultants and customers regularly need access to applications, data and projects in order to collaborate successfully. Yet many organisations make several mistakes when managing access and permissions because they still treat external users like internal employees. What is needed is a clear separation between internal and external identities.

Despite many years of project experience, we continue to encounter the same stumbling blocks – and B2B access is no exception. It is still common for companies to treat all identities in much the same way. More specifically, internal and external identities are often managed under the same model. When we point out this overlap, the reaction is often one of surprise: “Can’t we simply manage customer access within our existing Identity and Access Management system?” Our clear answer is: No. These are two fundamentally different scenarios.

Internal employee identities are usually tied to HR processes. This results in clearly defined roles and access rights based on function and department. An internal identity also has a clear endpoint when roles change or the employee leaves the company.

External identities, by contrast, are not part of the organisation itself. There is therefore no HR anchor. Their roles and permissions need to be assigned based on projects, limited in time and linked to the external organisation they belong to.

Managing this within an internal Identity and Access Management (IAM) environment is not impossible in itself. Individual functions such as roles, approvals or responsibilities can generally also be mapped there. The risk arises when external identities are simply forced into processes that were clearly designed for employees.

It is therefore not enough to simply create an account and assign a role. Companies need to clarify who is allowed to invite external users, who verifies their identity, who is responsible for the access from a business perspective and when that access should automatically expire.

Just as important is the question of what happens when a project ends, a service provider changes teams or a partner contract expires. Without such rules – in other words, without governance – special roles, exceptions and permanently active accounts quickly emerge, even though their original purpose may no longer exist.

Technically, the access may appear to be managed. From a business perspective, however, it is often no longer clear why an external identity holds certain permissions, whether those permissions are still required and who is responsible for reviewing them.

This is where the real risk lies: External access itself is not the problem. The problem is a lack of governance across the entire identity lifecycle.

Companies that manage external users solely through internal IAM processes quickly create blind spots. Permissions are not reviewed regularly, external accounts remain active even after projects have ended, and changes at customers, partners or service providers are not automatically reflected.

When personnel changes occur at those organisations, access often remains in place – not because of malicious intent, but because responsibilities and offboarding processes are missing.

The real problem therefore does not arise with the initial access request. The critical part is the lifecycle that follows. This is exactly where governance for B2B access is needed, because it ensures that access remains controllable over time.

Once governance for B2B access has been established, the next step is implementation. CIAM can provide external users with secure and user-friendly access.

Why this framework is better suited to external identities becomes clear when comparing the key questions addressed by IAM and CIAM experts.

With internal IAM, the focus is on how employee identities and access can be managed within the organisation.

• Which employee belongs to which department, role or organisational unit?
• Which permissions does the person need for their function?
• Who is the responsible manager and approves access?
• Which permissions need to change when an employee changes roles or departments?
• Which access rights must be revoked automatically when the employee leaves?
• How can Joiner, Mover and Leaver processes be mapped effectively?
• Which internal policies apply to access, authentication and recertification?

With CIAM, the focus shifts. It is less about internal organisational structures and more about how external users can access digital services securely, at scale and with as little friction as possible. The questions therefore look different:

• How do customers, partners or platform users register?
• How do they sign in securely and conveniently?
• Which self-service functions do external users need?
• Which authentication methods make sense – for example MFA, passkeys or social login?
• How are profiles, consent and communication preferences managed?
• How can different customers, partners or organisations be separated in a multi-tenant environment?
• How can access remain stable and performant even with large numbers of users?
• How can login remain secure without unnecessarily compromising the user experience?

Companies do not only gain greater security. If access to customer, partner and service provider platforms is simple and user-friendly, this can also have a positive effect on customer loyalty.

By contrast, users who face a complicated registration process, repeatedly encounter login problems or need to contact support for every change experience digital collaboration as an obstacle.

Modern CIAM solutions such as Descope or sovereign European alternatives such as cidaas therefore focus on secure but low-friction processes: self-service, strong authentication, passwordless methods, clear profile management and clean separation between different user groups or organisations.

Companies that currently manage external identities within their internal IAM should reconsider this approach for reasons of security, control and user experience. The fact that customer, partner and service provider identities follow different rules also needs to be reflected both technically and organisationally.

This means companies need two perspectives. First, a CIAM perspective that enables secure, scalable and user-friendly access for external users. Second, a governance perspective that ensures this access remains controlled throughout the entire lifecycle. Only this combination enables a modern, secure and customer-friendly model for external access.