Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

An approach to managing user access by assigning permissions based on roles (job functions) rather than individual identities. With RBAC, you define roles like "Sales Rep," "Accountant," or "IT Administrator," and each role has a set of approved accesses. Users are then assigned a role (or multiple roles), automatically giving them the permissions associated with that role.

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For instance, all Sales Reps might have access to the CRM system and sales share drive, but not to financial records; Accountants get finance system access, and so on. RBAC simplifies administration - when someone's job changes, you just change their role to update their access rights.

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For SMBs, implementing RBAC can be as straightforward as using groups in your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace to grant access to folders or apps, ensuring consistency and avoiding ad-hoc permission creep.