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“We were especially keen to build a solution based on Windows CardSpace technology because of its widespread availability and the ease of use it offers to all students in the U.K.”

Edward J. Zedlewski, Chief Information Officer and Deputy Chief Executive, Eduserv

Eduserv, one of the leading technology providers to the United Kingdom (U.K.) education sector, was asked by Microsoft to develop the identity management component of a Web site aimed at student software developers. Using Windows® CardSpace, Windows Communication Foundation, Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008 Professional Edition development system, and the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, Eduserv developed a solution that has been used by thousands of students to download the latest Microsoft development software.

Business Needs

Eduserv—a not-for-profit, professional IT services group—delivers technology-based solutions to education institutions and public sector bodies in the U.K. Located in Bath in the west of England, it has over 100 employees. Eduserv was founded in 1999 as the result of informal collaboration between universities since the 1980s. Its aim is to provide leading-edge technological solutions to help learners, researchers, and institutions realise the benefits of IT. One of the organisation’s main areas of activity is identity management. This is critical in higher education where students—many of them working remotely—need secure access to networks, documents, collaborative workspaces, and other resources.

Eduserv has successfully deployed solutions that take advantage of the latest advances in digital security, based on custom development tools and languages such as Linux and open source. In January 2008, it was approached by Microsoft to build an identity management layer for a site called DreamSpark, where aspiring student developers can download the latest Microsoft software.

This was a great opportunity to learn about the latest card-based authentication technologies, as Edward J. Zedlewski, Chief Information Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Eduserv, explains: “We were especially keen to build a solution based on Windows CardSpace technology because of its widespread availability and the ease of use it offers to all students in the U.K. It moves the chip-and-pin model into the online world.”

The main challenge for Eduserv was to integrate CardSpace technology with OpenAthens SP, its protocol-independent environment for processing the data associated with identities. This is a key part of Eduserv access and identity management solutions, which are used by more than 4 million students in the U.K. and by universities across the world.

Solution

The first step in developing the CardSpace solution was for Eduserv developers to spend a few weeks working side-by-side with their Microsoft colleagues.

Zedlewski says: “We have to be versatile enough to develop the solution taking into account all the technologies that our customers use. Working alongside Microsoft on a new implementation presented us with a chance to enhance the skills and expertise that can be used in other projects and to access other sites.”

By February 2008, the Eduserv team was ready to start deploying the CardSpace component of DreamSpark, including both an identity provisioning service and a Home Domain Discovery Service.

Now, when a student logs on to the DreamSpark site, he or she uses the CardSpace user interface, which displays the user’s stored identities as visual information cards, including the student ID card. The user selects the information card and the CardSpace software contacts the issuer to obtain a digitally signed XML token that contains the requested information. After the user’s credentials have been validated, the student is automatically rerouted from the institution to the download page.

To integrate CardSpace into OpenAthens SP, the Eduserv team used other Microsoft developer software, including Communication Foundation, a set of .NET technologies for building and running connected systems, as well as the latest application programming interfaces associated with the .NET Framework 3.5.

Says Zedlewski: “Developers tend to be sceptical about new software tools, but the Eduserv team was quickly won over by CardSpace and the Microsoft development system. It simplifies the coding process and helps you focus on primary business objectives,” he says.

Benefits

Many organisations, such as banks or multimedia retailers, are keen to attract students with special offers. CardSpace offers them a simple, inexpensive way of confirming the status of visitors. The CardSpace authentication layer to DreamSpark has already helped thousands of students confirm their identity and download the latest Microsoft development software. Eduserv has also acquired valuable experience in CardSpace technology that can be used to deploy similar services to other download or transaction sites that require identity verification.

Thousands of students have confirmed their identity and downloaded the latest Microsoft development software from the DreamSpark site.

Eduserv can easily replicate the CardSpace service for other organisations keen to attract students with special offers for the academic sector.

CardSpace puts users at the centre of transactions. They interact with their computer, which is connected to the banking network.

The retailer has no opportunity to acquire the card details—rather like the chip-and-pin model, but online.

This method of authentication is easy to use and familiar to anyone who uses a debit or credit card with a personal identification number.

The CardSpace layer can be added to most existing transactional sites with just a few lines of additional code.

The solution is widely available pre-loaded with the Windows Vista® operating system or as a download for Windows XP users.

CardSpace takes authentication out of the browser and reduces the risk of phishing.

Users no longer have to remember multiple passwords and pass codes.

CardSpace provides a convenient way of simultaneously managing multiple identities with student bodies, banks, and others.

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For more information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit: resources/casestudies

Customer: Eduserv

Web Site: .uk

Number of Employees: 100

Country or Region: United Kingdom

Industry: Education

Customer Profile

Eduserv is a not-for-profit, professional IT solutions provider with a particular focus on the needs of education institutions and public sector bodies in the United Kingdom (U.K.).

Software and Services

Technologies

Windows CardSpace

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

Windows Communication Foundation

Microsoft Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition

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