Network Security | News

Coppin State Moves Identity Management Online

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 09/28/10

Coppin State University has moved its identity management function off of its own servers and onto a hosted version of software from the same vendor. The Baltimore, MD-based school will be implementing a software-as-a-service version of Fischer Identity Suite from Fischer International. The university has been using Fischer technology since 2005 to handle password reset and synching; mobile identity, roles, and network access management; and ensuring network policy compliance.

The institution has about 5,000 users. It refers to the transfer of its identity management operations to a cloud-based service as outsourcing.

"The level of customer support we have experienced with Fischer has exceeded our expectations and provides us with a great level of comfort as we outsource our identity management solution for the first time," said Ahmed El-Haggan, vice president for IT, CIO, and professor of computer science. "With the cloud deployment in place, Coppin State is now able to invest in talent and resources to support core services by reducing the time previously dedicated to manage the identity management solution. As a result, we have seen improved levels of data reporting, increased functionality of the system, and have gained more value from our investment."

According to the vendor, the migration took less than a month and caused no disruption in service. The network topology is configured so that only established connections and ports are used and all data moving through the cloud is encrypted. Also, neither the online application nor administrative staff at Fischer have access to sensitive information within the university's PeopleSoft tables, which contain the financial and personal data of students, faculty, and staff. Coppin State maintains control over its data.