Multi-Product CIAM Platform Powering 85+ S&P Global Products
Overview
SAM (Secure Access Management) is a large-scale Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) platform that supports 1.8M+ external users and safeguards access to 85+ product lines across S&P Global. Built as a modular, API-first system, SAM enables secure authentication, fine-grained authorization, entitlement enforcement, and automated user provisioning. It forms the backbone for digital identity and access strategy across S&P’s enterprise SaaS and data platforms — directly influencing $1.8B+ in revenue.
SAM is built not just for security and compliance, but for developer flexibility, cross-product scalability, and internal operational efficiency. It supports both external customers and internal stakeholders through a suite of tools including authentication/authorization APIs and the SAM Admin Tool — a centralized interface for operational teams to manage users, access, licenses, and onboarding policies.
Key Features & Solutions
Modular API-First Architecture: SAM is composed of several decoupled but integrated services:
Authentication API: Secure, performant login infrastructure supporting SSO, federation, and MFA.
Authorization API: Policy-driven access control with real-time entitlement checks and license enforcement.
Identity API: Centralized identity store supporting multiple identity types and federation use cases.
Provisioning API: Automates account setup, user assignments, and product-level access propagation.
RBAC & Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC):
SAM supports RBAC for internal users (admins, support teams, product owners), allowing secure delegated access to SAM Admin Tool capabilities.
For product-level end users, SAM enables attribute-based provisioning, dynamically assigning entitlements based on contract terms, license type, geography, and user attributes — ensuring compliance and tailored access at scale.
SAM Admin Tool – Centralized Access Ops Hub:
A comprehensive internal-facing UI used by:
Product managers to define access policies
Customer support to manage user entitlements
Dev & ops teams to monitor access logs and troubleshoot issues
Delivery teams to provision users at scale
Enables role-based controls, audit trails, search/filter capabilities, and direct integration with backend APIs.
Automated User Onboarding & Communications:
From contract execution to user activation, SAM automates communications, credential setup, and entitlement assignment — reducing onboarding friction.
Comprehensive Audit & Compliance Controls:
Immutable activity logging for all SAM Admin actions
API event tracing and session logging for security reviews
Data residency and processing compliance (GDPR, CCPA, PCI-DSS, SOC 2)
Real-Time Usage Insights:
KPI dashboards for login latency, MFA usage, license utilization, and integration health
Insights drive product readiness and performance prioritization
Scalable Performance & Resilience:
Achieved 99.5%+ uptime, 3x throughput improvement, and 25% infrastructure cost reduction through distributed caching and async workflows
Role & Responsibilities
As Associate Director of Product Management, I led the end-to-end product ownership for the entire SAM ecosystem — spanning strategy, stakeholder alignment, technical delivery, and governance.
Strategic Leadership & Roadmapping:
Defined the multi-year vision and roadmap across 4+ product components (Identity, Authentication, Authorization, Admin Tool).
Established value-based prioritization models focused on revenue at risk, compliance exposure, and integration readiness.
Created and chaired a cross-functional product steering forum with stakeholders from security, platform engineering, and 85+ product lines
Modernization & Developer Enablement:
Consolidated 3+ fragmented legacy identity systems into SAM, saving in long-term cost avoidance.
Developed self-serve APIs, integration accelerators, and migration tooling that cut onboarding effort.
Operational Excellence & Internal Tools:
Designed and delivered the SAM Admin Tool as the single control center for internal operations, reducing reliance on engineering support.
Introduced RBAC model to define fine-grained permissions for customer support, app support, product managers, and delivery teams.
Instrumented KPI reporting and integrated continuous metrics into roadmap decision-making.
Security, Risk & Compliance Alignment:
Partnered with InfoSec, Legal, and Audit teams to align platform capabilities with global regulatory standards
Implemented API hardening (token scopes, mTLS), access tiers, and logging controls
Outcome & Impact
The SAM platform has become the central nervous system of access and identity across S&P Global — delivering measurable improvements in product scalability, customer activation, and regulatory posture.
Highlights:
$1.8B+ revenue influence across S&P’s digital ecosystem
30+ business units onboarded
80% onboarding automation and contract fulfillment time savings
99.5% uptime, 25% infrastructure savings, and 3x throughput gain
Universal adoption of the SAM Admin Tool by internal support and delivery teams, reducing dependency on technical teams and streamlining issue resolution
Summary
SAM exemplifies enterprise-grade platform thinking — blending security, developer experience, and operational agility into a single product ecosystem. My work on SAM reflects my ability to lead high-stakes platform products at scale, deliver tangible business outcomes, and orchestrate cross-functional collaboration across engineering, security, legal, and business teams.