1.6. Custom Managed Objects

Managed objects in OpenIDM are inherently fully user definable and customizable. Like all OpenIDM objects, managed objects can maintain relationships to each other in the form of links. Managed objects are intended for use as targets and sources for synchronization operations to represent domain objects, and to build up virtual identities. The name comes from the intention that OpenIDM stores and manages these objects, as opposed to system objects that are present in external systems.

OpenIDM can synchronize and map directly between external systems (system objects), without storing intermediate managed objects. Managed objects are appropriate, however, as a way to cache the data—for example, when mapping to multiple target systems, or when decoupling the availability of systems—to more fully report and audit on all object changes during reconciliation, and to build up views that are different from the original source, such transformed and combined or virtual views. Managed objects can also be allowed to act as an authoritative source if no other appropriate source is available.

Other object types exist for other settings that should be available to a script, such as configuration or look-up tables that do not need audit logging.