# Setting up the IBM watsonx platform for administrators #

To set up the watsonx platform for your organization, sign up for IBM watsonx\.ai, upgrade to a paid plan, set up the services that you need, and add your users with the appropriate permissions\.

IBM watsonx\.ai on the watsonx platform includes cloud\-based services that provide data preparation, data science, and AI modeling capabilities\. The watsonx platform is protected by the same powerful security constraints that are available on IBM Cloud\.

<!-- <table> -->

Table 1\. Configuration steps for IBM watsonx

| Task                                                              | Location                                              | Required Role                                                    | Description                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [Set up the IBM Cloud account](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/setup-account.html)                                  | IBM Cloud                                             | Account Owner                                                    | Set up a paid account\.                                                                                                                                                                      |
| [Manage users and access](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/setup-access.html)                                       | IBM Cloud                                             | Administrator                                                    | Invite users to join the account, create user access groups, and assign roles or access groups to users to provide access\.                                                                  |
| [Set up IBM Cloud Object Storage for use with IBM watsonx](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/console/wdp_admin_cos.html)      | IBM Cloud and IBM watsonx                             | Administrator                                                    | Create a test project to initialize IBM Cloud Object Storage and set the location to Global in each user's profile\.                                                                         |
| [Set up the Watson Studio and Watson Machine Learning services](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/set-up-ws.html) | IBM Cloud and IBM watsonx                             | Administrator                                                    | Upgrade to a paid plan\.                                                                                                                                                                     |
| [Create the Platform assets catalog](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/catalog/platform-assets.html)                            | IBM watsonx                                           | Administrator or Manager role for the Cloud Pak for Data service | Add connections to the platform assets catalog for use by collaborators\.                                                                                                                    |
| [Set up watsonx\.governance](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/model/wos-setup-wos.html)          | IBM Cloud and IBM watsonx                             | Administrator or Editor                                          | Create access policies and assign roles to users\.                                                                                                                                           |
| [Configure firewall access](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/admin/firewall_ovrvw.html) (if necessary)                      | IBM watsonx and cloud provider firewall configuration | Administrator                                                    | Configure inbound access through a firewall\.                                                                                                                                                |
| Optional\. [Configure security mechanisms](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/security-overview.html)                      | IBM Cloud                                             | Administrator                                                    | IBM watsonx has five security levels to ensure that data, application endpoints, and identity are protected\. For a list of common security mechanisms, see [Common security mechanisms](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/setup-platform.html?context=cdpaas&locale=en#security)\. |
| Optional\. [Connect to data behind a firewall](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/manage-data/securingconn.html)                  | IBM Cloud                                             | Administrator                                                    | Securely connect to databases that are hosted behind a firewall\.                                                                                                                            |
| Optional\. [Configure integrations with other cloud platforms](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/admin/int-cloud.html)  | IBM Cloud and IBM watsonx                             | Administrator                                                    | Connect to services on other cloud platforms\.                                                                                                                                               |

<!-- </table ""> -->

## Common security mechanisms ##

As an IBM Cloud account owner or administrator, you set up security for the account by providing single sign\-on, IAM role\-based access control, secure communication, and other security constraints\.

Following are common security mechanisms for the IBM watsonx platform:

<!-- <ul> -->

 *  Encrypt your instance with your own key\. See [Encrypt your IBM Cloud Object Storage instance with your own key](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/console/wdp_admin_cos.html#byok)\.
 *  Use IBM Key Protect to encrypt key data assets in Cloud Object Storage\. See [Encrypting at rest data](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/security-data.html#encrypting-at-rest-data)\.
 *  Support single sign\-on using SAML federation or Active Directory\. See [SSO with Federated IDs](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/security-account.html#sso-with-federated-ids)\.
 *  Configure secure connections to databases that are behind a firewall\. See [Connecting to data behind a firewall](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/manage-data/securingconn.html)
 *  Configure secure communication between services with Service Endpoints\. See [Private network service endpoints](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/security-network.html#private-network-service-endpoints)\.
 *  Control access at the IP address level\. See [Allow specific IP addresses](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/security-network.html#allow-specific-ip-addresses)\.
 *  Require personal credentials when creating connections\. The default setting is shared credentials\. See [Managing your account settings](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/admin/account-settings.html#set-the-credentials-for-connections)\.

<!-- </ul> -->

## Learn more ##

<!-- <ul> -->

 *  HIPAA readiness is available for some regions and plans\. See [HIPAA readiness](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/security.html#hipaa)\.
 *  See [Security for IBM watsonx](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/security-overview.html) for a complete list of security constraints available in IBM watsonx\.
 *  See [Overview of watsonx](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/overview-wx.html) to understand the architecture of the platform\.

<!-- </ul> -->

**Parent topic:**[Getting started](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/get-started-wdp.html)

<!-- </article "role="article" "> -->