City University increases the security and reduces the cost of managing web-based applications with Pirean

(18/03/2010)

Pirean has announced the completion of a project for City University to increase the security and reduce the cost of managing web-based applications as a platform for the delivery of University services.

The Pirean implemented security solution uses IBM Tivoli technology to enable the secure delivery of a range of portal and collaborative services to 25,000 staff and students of the University. In addition, customised training was provided to enable the University's technical team to support and adapt the solution in future. The three month project delivered single sign-on capabilities for the University’s growing web application environment.

The success of the project has reduced the cost associated with individually managing and maintaining the security of web applications. Furthermore, by implementing a fully resilient architecture the risk of unplanned downtime is also substantially reduced.

“Our move to web based applications for the delivery of services has been extensive over the last few years,” comments Bill Rafferty, Development Manager at CUL, “However, having to manage access and security for each application separately was proving to be extremely time consuming and negating some of the savings we had made. Pirean has delivered a solution that allows us to reign in those costs and deploy new applications quickly without generating more management overheads for the IT department.”

The solution provides single sign-on capabilities for access to all web-based services and is integrated with the University’s existing Active Directory infrastructure, allowing incorporation of the University's existing user registry and credential store as an integral part of the access control solution. The University will also benefit from tight integration with Microsoft Exchange services for web-based email access for all users as well as access to the University's Moodle Virtual Learning Environment, IBM Lotus Connections collaboration services and WebSphere Portal Services.

“Projects like our work at City University are good examples of simple and clean engagements,” comments Mike Cartwright, Chief Technology Officer for Pirean. “Good preparatory work, effective communication with the client and demonstrating a deep understanding of the technology and organisational objectives. We plan, design, implement and test the solution, and we provide post-implementation support and training to allow the in-house IT department to support the solution as it matures.”

“Educational budgets are tight, so it is vital that we focus on solutions that allow organisations to do more with less,” adds Cartwright, “Solutions that simplify complex tasks, and automate labour intensive processes can be relatively low cost and simple to implement but offer significant improvements to internal processes and the end-user experience.”

Related topics:  Authentication and identity management   Internet and Web security 

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