Set Up AWS IAM Identity Center and AWS Organizations

Managing multiple AWS accounts and user access can quickly become complex as your organization grows. AWS offers powerful tools like IAM Identity Center (formerly AWS SSO) and AWS Organizations to help centralize identity and access management.

Managing multiple AWS accounts and user access can quickly become complex as your organization grows. AWS offers powerful tools like IAM Identity Center (formerly AWS SSO) and AWS Organizations to help centralize identity and access management.

Let's set up AWS IAM Identity Center and AWS Organizations — ideal for businesses of any size looking to streamline their AWS environment securely and efficiently.

Importance

If your business is scaling or you’re managing multiple AWS accounts for development, testing, and production, using a centralized identity and access system ensures:

• Easier user onboarding/offboarding

• Simplified permission management

• Stronger security and governance

• Seamless collaboration across cloud teams

Step 1: Set Up AWS Organizations

AWS Organizations allows you to group multiple AWS accounts under a single umbrella and apply policies across them.

How to do it:

1. Log in to the AWS Console using your root account.

2. Navigate to AWS Organizations.

3. Click Create Organization and choose Enable All Features.

4. Once created, you'll see your Management Account listed.

5. Add accounts to your organization:

   • Invite existing accounts (via email)

   • Or create new accounts from the console

Step 2: Enable IAM Identity Center (Formerly AWS SSO)

IAM Identity Center centralizes access control by letting you manage who can access what — across all AWS accounts — from one place.

To enable:

1. Go to IAM Identity Center in the AWS Console.

2. Click Enable.

3. Choose your Identity Source:

   • Use AWS IAM Identity Center directory (default) or

   • Integrate with external identity providers like Azure AD or Okta

Step 3: Assign Accounts and Permission Sets

With IAM Identity Center enabled, you can now define what users or groups can do inside each AWS account.

Assign users:

1. Go to IAM Identity Center → AWS Accounts.

2. Select the account(s) you want to assign.

3. Click Assign users or groups.

4. Choose or create a Permission Set (e.g., Administrator, ReadOnly).

5. Assign it to selected users or groups.

Step 4: Add Users and Groups

Create users:

1. Navigate to Users in IAM Identity Center.

2. Click Add User and enter their name and email.

3. Create Groups if you want to manage team-based access.

Users will receive a welcome email with a login link to the IAM Identity Center user portal.

Step 5: Test User Access

Before rolling out to your entire team:

• Add a test user

• Assign them a permission set

• Log in as the user using the portal link

• Confirm the right accounts and roles are visible

By setting up AWS Organizations and IAM Identity Center, you gain full control over account management and user access from a single point. This is not just best practice — it’s a foundational move toward building a secure, scalable cloud infrastructure for your growing business.

At Xpecto® IT Solutions, we help businesses implement robust cloud strategies and automation systems tailored to their needs. Whether you're managing 2 accounts or 200, we can help you scale with confidence.