SCIM provisioning, or System for Cross-domain Identity Management provisioning, is an open standard that allows for the automation of user provisioning. It simplifies cloud identity management and enables user provisioning to be automated across multiple domains. SCIM provisioning works with existing web model standards, making it easy to implement. It is a REST API that operates using HTTP request methods (e.g., GET, POST, DELETE, etc.) within a given programming language to manage user data throughout the identity lifecycle. SCIM provisioning allows companies to manage user identities in the cloud efficiently and easily add or remove users within their enterprise, benefiting budgets, reducing risk, and streamlining operations.

SCIM provisioning provides a standardized, secure methodology for exchanging information between IT systems, ensuring interoperability across domains without expensive custom integrations. It makes user data more secure and simplifies the user experience by automating the user identity lifecycle management process. With SCIM, user identities can be created either directly in a tool like Okta, or imported from external systems like HR software or Active Directory. Since it is a standard, user data is stored in a consistent way and can be communicated as such across different apps. This enables IT departments to automate the provisioning/deprovisioning process while also having a single system to manage permissions and groups.

SCIM provisioning offers several benefits, including:

• Scalability: SCIM provides the scalability growing companies need. As organizations hire more employees and adopt more cloud-based applications, identity and access management becomes increasingly complex. Managing large numbers of accounts manually consumes valuable IT time, introduces errors, and impedes productivity. SCIM solves these problems and offers additional advantages.

• Standardization: Perhaps the greatest benefit of SCIM is that it provides a standardized, secure methodology for exchanging information between IT systems. This ensures interoperability across domains without expensive custom integrations.

• Automation: SCIM provisioning allows for efficient onboarding processes as well as for updating user-profiles and permissions during their employment. It frees up IT teams to focus on more valuable tasks, reduces the time needed to grant access to backend infrastructure, and gives employees a productivity boost[[2]](https://www.strongdm.com/blog/scim-prov...