Dave Kearns had posted this article earlier in March and there's been a number of follow-ups (including my favorite here). I sent him a quick note as part of a follow-up on it at the time, but thought I'd share the same with everyone.
1. Meta-directory really merged into the basic directory services layer and stopped being an independent category several years ago, with the exception of one noted vendor. Meta-directories were being used for provisioning before provisioning became process-centric with workflow and identity auditing requirements. Our product direction on provisioning is certainly focused on the next frontier -- seamless integration with enterprise applications, including separation of duties and role management.
2. Virtual directories are really a more application-centric technology that solves the problem of getting the right identities to the right applications in the right format. It's the difference between transforming existing data vs. building new identity stores. Most customers need both provisioning and virtualization technologies. This is probably why so many Microsoft Active Directory users are using Oracle Virtual Directory, given their admitted gap in this area.
Technorati Tags: meta-directory, virtual directory
