Simulations dramatically reduced the time to production of an IDM system
Client:
University of Prešov
Scope:
Identity management
Overview – Identity access management (IAM) solution
University of Prešov had only four months to build an Identity Management System integrated with over 20 academic systems. Simulations saved the day
Challenge
University of Prešov had nearly 30 academic information systems within the scope of the new Identity Data Management project. As a project funded by European funds, the strict deadline left only four months for the delivery realization.
Process
A legacy version of midPoint integrated with two authoritative source systems was in place. After the upgrade to midPoint v4.7.1, we swiftly embarked on an expedited series of integrations for the new systems. MidPoint Simulations capability was a lifesaver, replacing time-consuming parallel runs and guessing.
Outcome
Following four months of intensive effort, midPoint oversees identity management in most of the University’s IT systems. It unifies credentials for all users and stands as the singular system for administering passwords and access.
objective
Centralize academic systems under one Identity management system with unified credentials for users
In the past, individual faculties were autonomous entities that incorporated academic information systems according to their needs and preferences. Due to these historical circumstances, the central IT department inherited almost 30 informatic systems to maintain.
Multiple systems were initially designed for access by teachers or students but lacked a centralized identity, resulting in users having distinct credentials for each system. The key goals were to make the midPoint the central point of truth for identity accounts and, in parallel, automate identity governance processes, simplify password reset, and simplify the workload for system administrators by reducing manual operations.
challenge
From the very beginning, the biggest challenge was the delivery timeline with strict deadline
Another challenge was communication with 3rd party vendors, as multiple systems omitted APIs for user management, weren’t ready for standardized LDAP authentication, or lacked documentation required for connector development.
The complexity of business processes, the number of exceptions, multiple data sources, and data inconsistencies only underline the project’s difficulty.
process
It was a marathon of deployments
In numbers, the university has over 8000 active students and more than 1000 active staff members. Their identities come from two source systems, and midPoint distributes these to 20 target informatic systems via 30 resources.
On the first day of the project, the analytical team started intensively working with the customer on the analysis. A dedicated project team was tasked to implement the missing connectors, and the special task force had to master our secret weapon – simulations.
Due to the short project schedule, we had to find alternatives to standardized processes like parallel runs or multiple dry runs to achieve the required data clarity.
The initial step was to upgrade the production instance of midPoint to version 4.7.1 and upgrade existing integrations toward authoritative source systems for students and teachers. Once authoritative source data were in place; we started integrating target systems, beginning with the IT systems having user management API ready.
An initial step was to link accounts in a non-destructive way. Once we achieved accounts linkage, simulations came in place before we applied updates on target systems. Simulations helped us immensely to mitigate risks related to incorporating configuration changes, bug fixing, changing policies, and especially when disabling and deleting accounts or unwanted account updates.
outcome
The technology combined with devoted team effort can move boundaries of what is possible
The project was a real challenge as it was unthinkable to integrate 30 IT systems within four months. However, simulations drastically reduced the delivery time, and this project proves that challenging dates are achievable with the right tools. These advanced projections make midPoint a powerful tool that rapidly shortens delivery times, saves myriad test rounds, and reduces data damage risks.
This project delivery was possible only due to the university’s dedicated team, as we received all the required support. It was again proven that customer cooperation is essential in integration projects like IDM.
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