OpenAthens has delivered the first phase of OpenAthens Access, its new software as a service (SaaS) product for service providers (SP). The new dashboard unifies two previously separate systems for easier resource set up and quicker membership to federations.
Jon Bentley, Commercial Director for OpenAthens, said “The phase one rollout of the OpenAthens Access dashboard is a key milestone. Many of our customers use both the SP and Federation Management aspects of OpenAthens. The launch of the new dashboard will significantly reduce the time and effort required for publishers – and other service providers – to add new resources, manage their subscriber access or configure their membership of different Identity and Access Management federations.”
Phase two of the rollout, expected in 2017, will offer the full functionality of a local-network install of OpenAthens SP via an API. It will eliminate the need for service providers to run and maintain additional SAML software on their own networks, and provide an intuitive way to set up and manage access to knowledge via the phase one dashboard.
Bentley concludes: “Phase two will deliver a ‘lite’ option of our current OpenAthens SP product, which will have broad appeal in the international publishing community – especially mid-tier organisations. “This development is a core element of our Publishers’ Manifesto, delivering on our commitments to help service providers from across the publishing landscape address common challenges, both now and in the future.”