Cloud computing is often quite ambiguous since it’s not a tangible product you can hold in your hands. However, while many people can’t exactly picture what the Cloud looks like, it is quite easy to see the significant impact it’s had on storage, security, app functionality and so much more. Accidently wipe your travel pictures from Rome? It’s not a problem if you backed up your images to the Cloud. Looking to run the same software on your laptop, tablet and phone? It’s easy to do if the app or software utilizes the Cloud.
The Cloud has also had a tremendous effect on IDaaS, or Identity as a Service. IDaaS is offered to a variety of businesses, from enterprise companies to public schools, and encompasses the administration, intelligence and access of IDs. Sound complicated? It’s not! In its more condensed form, it’s simply swiping in a card to access your gym, place of work or even your school’s library.
We’ve uncovered the major ways the Cloud has changed the methods places of business use to administer, manage and access the identities of people walking through any building on any given day.
Administration
IDaaS is primarily utilized by companies to manage the credentials of employees, customers, visitors or students. Traditionally, this entailed printing individual badges with specific information about each person. Often this task was quite laborious and involved expensive machinery to print – and just as pricey software to create, manage and secure – those identities. The Cloud was able to cut down administration costs significantly. Instead of locally installed ID badge software, the Cloud has provided an easier management solution. One such example is the Veonics Credential Database that allows for new identity records to be automated securely from any source database. Instead of manually entering data, ID records can be imported quickly. There are no weeks of waiting around for a security badge or special clearance access because Cloud-based badging can handle it almost instantaneously.
Companies may also forgo traditional badges completely (picture those white badges often chucked around on lanyards or keychains) and replace them with mobile ones instead! Photo ID badges issued using the Cloud can be displayed on any smart mobile device, and each virtual ID is equipped with a unique barcode that allows for an immediate alert to determine the badge’s activity and clearance levels.
Intelligence
For many companies, connecting identities to photographs is often difficult. The Cloud has allowed IDaaS to be more efficient by streamlining the issuance of virtual photo ID badges into a single solution. It has made identity management smarter by allowing photos to be input through live capture, a manual upload from a previously saved file, through a database import or through a photo email request and capture tool. No matter where in the world employees or students may be, they’ll be able to submit an up-to-date photo through a single hyperlink. This submission can then be saved, verified, cropped and, finally, approved for publication.
Because of the focus on mobile, Cloud badging is also accompanied by mobile tracking tools that include timekeeping, attendance or other in/out transactions to make managing a number of actions associated with badge IDs a whole lot easier.
Access
More important than capturing and managing identities is actually securing those identities. Cloud-based badging has a strong security-first focus and ensures that your ID badging system is protected night and day, 24/7. An example of this is the VEONICS PORTAL™, which allows for the completely secure management of all the internal contract badging services outlined above. Companies can have peace of mind with Cloud-based badging because they’ll be protected against malfunctions, security breaches and data failures, as all ID information will be safely stored and ready to be reinstalled because it has been securely living in the Cloud.
It’s quite difficult to quantify just how much the Cloud has impacted the world of identity management. However, by pulling apart all the layers the Cloud has been able to speed up and streamline, it’s easy to see how much more efficient identification systems across the world can be when floated up to the Cloud.
