Salesforce Platform Identity and Access Management Architect

Become a Salesforce Identity & Access Management Architect: Certification Details

The Salesforce Certified Platform Identity and Access Management Architect certification validates your expertise in building and maintaining secure, scalable identity solutions on the Salesforce Customer 360 platform. This credential is for seasoned professionals capable of analyzing business needs, designing robust authentication and authorization strategies, and effectively communicating technical solutions to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Who Should Pursue This Certification?

This certification is ideal for individuals with:

• At least 1 year of experience in Salesforce identity and access management design.
• 2+ years of experience working with identity and security technologies.
• Roles such as Enterprise Architect, Security Architect, Integration Architect, or Identity Architect.

Exam Details:

• Format: 60 multiple-choice/multiple-select questions + up to 5 non-scored questions
• Time Limit: 120 minutes
• Passing Score: 67%
• Version Tested: Summer ’23 release
• Cost: $400 USD (retake: $200 USD) + applicable taxes
• Delivery: In-person at a testing center or online proctored
• Prerequisites: None
• Materials Allowed: None

Exam Outline: Key Areas of Focus

The exam assesses your knowledge and skills across several critical areas of identity and access management within the Salesforce ecosystem:

• Identity Management Concepts (17%): Demonstrate your understanding of authentication patterns, the core building blocks of an identity solution (authentication, authorization, accountability), and how to implement them using Salesforce features. You'll be tested on establishing trust between systems and troubleshooting SSO issues (SAML, OAuth, etc.).
• Accepting Third-Party Identity in Salesforce (21%): Understand when Salesforce acts as a Service Provider (SP) and how to provision users from various identity stores (B2E, B2C, Enterprise Directories, Social, Communities). You'll be evaluated on choosing appropriate authentication mechanisms, enabling SSO, and auditing/monitoring Identity Provider (IdP) issues.
• Salesforce as an Identity Provider (17%): Master OAuth flows (Web-based, JWT, User agent, Device auth flow), including scope configuration and token management (scopes, secrets, tokens, refresh tokens, etc.). You'll also need to identify Salesforce technologies for providing identity to third-party systems (Canvas, Connected Apps, App Launcher).
• Access Management Best Practices (15%): Apply multi-factor authentication (MFA) best practices, including session management and role/permission set assignment during SSO. You'll be tested on auditing and verifying user activity and configuring Connected Apps.
• Salesforce Identity (12%): Explain the role of Identity Connect in Salesforce Identity and its integration with the broader Customer 360 solution. You'll need to recommend appropriate Salesforce license types.
• Community (Partner and Customer) (18%): Customize user experiences for Experience Cloud (branding, authentication, identity verification, password reset). Understand how to support external IdPs in communities, leverage user/contact models, and evaluate the advantages/limitations of External Identity solutions. You'll also be tested on when to use embedded login.

Earning the Salesforce Certified Platform Identity and Access Management Architect certification demonstrates your ability to design and implement secure, scalable identity solutions, making you a valuable asset in any organization leveraging the Salesforce platform.