Regulatory frameworks like DORA, BAIT, and VAIT demand more than documentation – they require auditable, up-to-date, and transparent authorization concepts. Yet, many banks and insurers still rely on Word, Excel, or internal wikis to manage critical access information. The result: outdated content, inconsistent processes, and rising risk.
With NEXIS 4, we’ve redefined what an authorization concept can be – from static paperwork to a fully integrated, auditable, and automation-ready process.
From Obligation to Operational Excellence
Initially driven by regulatory needs, the NEXIS 4 Authorization Concept module now plays a central role in application onboarding and access governance. What started as a means to fulfill external expectations has evolved into a business-first, audit-proof foundation for Identity Governance and Administration (IGA).
Instead of documenting roles and entitlements after the fact, application owners now start with a structured specification process. Only once the full context – roles, high-risk entitlements, SoD constraints, regulatory scope, and metadata – is defined, reviewed, and released, it is transferred into the IGA system. This guarantees a seamless, consistent integration from day one.
What the Authorization Concept includes
Following a stringent methodology, the concept captures:
- A business and technical summary of the application
- Current user and permission structure
- Applicable regulations (e.g., DORA, GDPR, SOX)
- Known risks or access concerns
- A catalog of authorizations: individual permissions, roles, criticality levels, and SoD classifications
- Metadata such as application criticality, connectivity types, and master data
These represent the baseline elements of any authorization concept. However, enterprises define the scope differently. While some focus on fulfilling the minimal regulatory requirements (e.g., DORA), others use it to embed broader documentation – such as security architecture, integration design, or operational processes.
Because the templates in NEXIS 4 are dynamic, organizations can derive custom versions that reflect their own governance models. Scope can be adapted based on application classification: for example, high-risk or business-critical systems may require additional sections, controls, or metadata compared to standard applications.
NEXIS 4 supports this by allowing dynamic inclusion of fields and sections based on previous inputs or application context – enabling tailored documentation that matches the specific risk and business relevance of each application.
Core Capabilities in NEXIS 4
1 Template-based and centrally managed concepts
Authorization concepts are generated from standardized templates managed in a central location. This ensures consistency across applications. When templates are updated due to policy or regulatory changes, owners are notified automatically and guided to complete only the affected sections. This keeps all concepts aligned and audit-ready with minimal effort.
2 Integrated release process
Every authorization concept follows a structured lifecycle: creation, review, approval and release. Once released, any change triggers a controlled update workflow, including stakeholder notification and optional re-approval. This ensures traceability and governance from draft to production.
3 Versioning and audit-proof documentation
All changes are automatically versioned and time-stamped. Historic versions can be regenerated as PDF at any time – useful for audits or internal reviews. The complete change history supports compliance with regulatory expectations around transparency and reproducibility.
4 Centralized, living documentation
Authorization concepts are maintained centrally and continuously updated. They’re not static files, but embedded in the governance platform – enabling reuse across apps, integration into access reviews, and immediate visibility for risk and compliance functions.
5 Continuous validation and drift detection
NEXIS 4 automatically compares the defined concept with actual system configurations. Deviations trigger validation alerts and can initiate follow-up actions. This protects against unnoticed misalignment between design and implementation. Continuous validation is not a one-time control – it forms part of ongoing enterprise risk management and supports regulatory expectations for operational resilience.
6 Real-time integration with IGA and enterprise data
NEXIS 4 connects directly to IGA systems and other data sources. Roles, entitlements, SoD rules and metadata are prefilled into the concept. Owners can select from current, validated data. Concept metadata can also be provisioned back into the IGA system – e.g. criticality tags for entitlements – ensuring full lifecycle integration.
Value Beyond Compliance
Instead of operating in isolation, the NEXIS 4 Authorization Concept brings business, IT, and compliance together. App owners define the model, the system validates it against rules, and auditors can rely on up-to-date, complete documentation – automatically versioned and ready for inspection.
Manual maintenance is replaced by structured workflows. Instead of requesting individual roles or entitlements, app owners start with a governance specification. The end result is cleaner integration, fewer errors, and more reliable access models.
Data quality improves, operational effort decreases, and business responsibility is encouraged through intuitive, guided processes.
Summary: Compliance as an Accelerator
With NEXIS 4, compliance becomes more than a cost of doing business. It becomes a trigger for better process quality, cross-team alignment, and scalable governance. And with full DORA alignment, banks and insurers gain not just peace of mind but a proven foundation for secure digital operations.
Want to see how it works? Let’s connect and walk through the NEXIS 4 Authorization Concept in a live demo.
Get in touch and experience what efficient, audit-ready access governance really looks like: https://nexis-secure.com/en/nexis-4-demo/