6 Reasons to Choose an Open ID Management Solution

Today’s campus card solutions can do much more than verify students’ identity and open doors. Fully integrated ID management systems have the ability to connect with an increasing number of technologies, departments, and services across campus, including libraries, gyms, laundry, vending, retail, meal plans, events, transportation, and more.

To take advantage of these connections, campus ID systems must integrate with student and financial applications in order to work quickly, accurately, and seamlessly. This also includes hardware, locks, readers, point of sale and more.

Proprietary is problematic

If an ID management system runs on proprietary technology, you may have less options and control over how to implement and expand your system. Proprietary systems often restrict your ability to modify and connect to other applications and hardware, which can be particularly troublesome for colleges and universities, where offices across a campus employ a variety of hardware and software from multiple providers.

Technology is always evolving, adding new functionality, correcting bugs and errors, connecting to new solutions, and securing against the newest threats. An open ID management system makes it easier to keep pace with this evolution, while the limitations of proprietary solutions can be difficult to support and costly to customize.

Open and interoperable is beneficial

TouchNet OneCard is an open and interoperable solution, meaning it is built with industry standards shared by hardware manufacturers and software vendors. The benefits of choosing an open and interoperable ID management system are multiple and recurring:

1. Flexible and scalable to fit right

With OneCard’s interoperability, you have greater flexibility to choose software and hardware that fit your campus infrastructure now and adopt new technologies in the future. When needed, scaling your ID system up and reconfiguring it is quicker and more efficient.

2. Synchronized and seamless processes

OneCard’s integrations create a seamless experience for students and staff by centralizing the administration of ID management. Being open means OneCard “speaks the same language” as the solutions and hardware it connects to, communicating to the entire campus continuously to make processes efficient and effective.

3. Automations to save time and effort

A key benefit of a well-integrated campus running open, interoperable solutions is the automations it makes possible. When applications share development standards and languages they can automate processes for staff, reducing manual work and saving that time and effort for other, valuable projects.

4. Improved and shared data

While OneCard connects with other technologies it collects and organizes data from them, and does so in real-time. To share the data, reports can be scheduled to email out to offices across campus. Administrators gain access to a new and wider range of data with fresh insights that lead to operational improvements.

5. Better security

Better integrated technology is more secure technology and leads to a more secure campus and community. When all of the components in an ID management system integrate, administrators can best control access and permissions for physical security.

6. Freedom to follow your priorities

Using OneCard means the freedom to make purchasing decisions and IT configurations based on the financial and operational priorities of your campus. With an open ID management solution, you are empowered to set up and develop your campus ID system.

The open and interoperable design of OneCard puts a campus and its users at the center of attention, working to support the changing shape of higher education today. Campuses have a complexity and diversity of activity similar to a town, and to support it all requires a bevy of hardware and software to interact without complications. TouchNet OneCard is open to support campus activity and interoperable to make it work smoothly.