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Third Party Providers of Federated Access Management Solutions: Guide for institutions
This briefing is aimed at UK higher (HE) and further (FE) education institutions that wish to adopt federated access management and join the UK Access Management Federation, either by using paid-for support or by subscribing to an ‘outsourced Identity Provider’.
This publication has been updated as of October 2008 to include new information. Please go to
Third Party Providers of Federated Access Management Solutions: Guide for Institutions Version 3
Connecting People to Resources: Federated Access Management
In November 2006, JISC launched its UK Access Management Federation. Educational institutions throughout the UK have been invited to join the UK federation and adopt the federated access management standards, based on SAML and Shibboleth. This will allow users to access a number of internal and external services while signing on only once.
There are different ways in which an institution may participate in the UK federation:
- Become a full member of the UK federation, using open source software with in-house technical support
- Become a full member of the UK federation, using open source software with paid-for support
- Subscribe to an ‘outsourced Identity Provider’ to work through the UK federation on the institution’s behalf
The briefing aims to provide more information about some third party providers of access management solutions that support options 2 and 3.
Please note that any institution using commercial support or outsourced identity provision should ensure that ongoing compliance with the UK federation is included in the contract with the provider. Please see section 2 of the UK Federation Technical Recommendations for Participants for more information.
These are some of the questions an institution may wish to ask the provider:
- Will you commit to remaining compliant with the UK federation for the duration of my contract?
- Does your solution work with other SAML-based federations internationally?
- Can you provide user accountability?
- Do you have a roadmap for future developments (ie Shibboleth 2.0, provision of embedded certificates etc)?
Note: If any third party provider of federated access management solutions would like to be included in future versions of this briefing, please contact the JISC Access Management Team at: JISC-access-management@jiscmail.ac.uk
Please click the image below for a summary of third party solutions available and more information about the organisations that provide them.
Third Party Federated Access Management Solutions Providers
9Star Research, Inc
9Star Research is a US-based company that specialises in providing federated identity, access management and enterprise directory management solutions for academic, business and government customers. The company also provides an Open Standards-based ProtectNetwork identity provider service for SAML and OpenID compliant application service providers. The company was established in 2001.
9Star Research, Inc
Protect Network
Eduserv
Eduserv is a not-for-profit ICT services group with the mission to realise the benefits of ICT for learners, researchers and the institutions that serve them. Eduserv has been providing the Athens Access Management service since 1999, commissioned and funded by JISC until July 2008.
Eduserv Access and Identity Management
IAM-Federated
The company was founded in 2004 and specialises in identity management, single sign-on and federated identity solutions for academic, business and government clients.
IAM-Federated has recently become a Joint Venture with RUauthorised.
IAM-Federated
Kidderminster College (VLE Middleware)
Kidderminster College is an early adopter of federated access management, through projects funded by JISC. Kidderminster College has been providing federated access management solutions since 2003. The primary focus of VLE Middleware is the FE sector, particularly in the context of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), but can also provide support for universities and publishers. Kidderminster College has recently won a JISC contract to run federated access management support services for smaller institutions, together with Cardiff University.
VLE Middleware
Ping Identity Corporation
Ping Identity was founded in 2002 and specialises in providing federated access management and secure internet single sign-on solutions to internet applications. The company has created PingFederate®, standalone federated identity management software to deliver secure internet single sign-on. Ping Identity is a US company with a UK branch.
Ping Identity Corporation
Salford Software
Salford Software is wholly owned by the University of Salford. The company is an early adopter of federated access management in the UK. Salford Software specialises in the provision of identity management solutions for the UK academic community, particularly directory systems and associated security services. Salford Software has been providing federated access management solutions since 2007.
Salford Software
Further information and resources
JISC federation advice and support
For further information, please contact the JISC Access Management Team:
JISC-access-management@ jiscmail.ac.uk