# Moniker Providers

In general, a component should be a moniker provider when it allows access to one of its objects, while still controlling the object’s storage. If a component is going to hand out monikers that identify its objects, it must be capable of performing the following tasks:

- On request, create a moniker that identifies an object.

- Enable the moniker to be bound when a client calls IMoniker::BindToObject on it.

A moniker provider must create a moniker of an appropriate moniker class to identify an object. The moniker class refers to a specific implementation of the IMoniker interface that defines the type of moniker created. While you can implement IMoniker to create a new moniker class, it is frequently unnecessary because OLE provides implementations of several different moniker classes, each with its own CLSID. Refer to OLE Moniker Implementations for descriptions of moniker classes that OLE provides.