Delivering modern user experiences on day one

Benefits

• Enables system access in minutes or hours vs. days or weeks
• Issues building access cards in two days vs. weeks
• Saves directors weeks of effort each year
• Increases security

The Story

To access the required systems and buildings, individuals had to complete PDF forms and send them to the service desk along with a personal photo. Service desk personnel entered form information into the SAP IDM and manually managed approvals. Not only did people have to wait a week or more to gain access to the requested systems but it could take a month to obtain a building access card. Additionally, service desk staff and managing directors spent weeks each year managing access and correcting errors such as typos, and they had limited insights into registered users and approval history.

Responding to feedback, the university implemented an initial solution with One Identity Manager that simplifies identity and access management (IAM) and increases security. “With One Identity Manager, we can more easily manage the complex access rules that have evolved over 13 years of IAM history for all our identities and roles — and hide that complexity from users so they have a better experience,” says Ulrich Kriehmigen, system engineer for Identity Services at the University of Basel.

Simplifying requests

The university built a central, self-service access portal with Identity Manager as well as automated processes for requesting, approving and granting access. By clicking on a link in the portal, users can quickly complete the required forms, upload a photo and correct any mistakes that the system flags in real time. “Once they applied the registration process with Identity Manager, they will receive access within minutes or hours — and their physical access card within a few days by mail delivery,” Kriehmigen says.

Saving time for service desk staff and managing directors

With Identity Manager, service desk personnel do not have to manually review forms and photos, work with applicants to correct mistakes and determine who should approve requests. And directors simply click a button to approve requests. There’s no need to log into additional systems. “Directors spent hours instead of days or weeks managing access this last year for our initial Identity Manager portal users,” says Alexander Kessinger, team leader of Identity and Access Management at the University of Basel.

Increasing security and simplifying innovation

With Identity Manager, the university can define and automate consistent IAM processes so the right people approve requests and privileges are consistent for roles. Administrators have also increased insight into access privileges, including new users and who granted access. “We had a vision and instead of starting with a shiny PowerPoint presentation, we brought it to life with Identity Manager,” said Kessinger. “We now have a solid, central portal to provide self-service access for all our employees and associates. And we can use it to enable them to manage their identities — including their roles — in a way that meets our requirements and their expectations.”