About IAMOhio
Society has seen the rise of mobile technology, ubiquitous devices, lifelong learning and shared services drive demand for the personalized web throughout all segments of the population. At the same time, many institutions have embraced cloud computing for economic and efficiency reasons; they increasingly do not own the systems or operate network infrastructures on their premises. Ohio educational institutions are national leaders in the development and implementation of identity technologies.
The Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet), a member of the Ohio Technology Consortium (OH-TECH), connects its client organizations through a sophisticated technology infrastructure comprising 1,850 miles of fiber-optic backbone. Working with its member organizations, OARnet staff members recognized the need for secure, web-based services. They also identified the growth of threats to those services has outpaced the disparate levels of adoption of trusted identity within the Ohio community.
Some of the pitfalls of operating without appropriate identity measures are:
- Multiple logins, multiple passwords
- Lack of access to applications and services
- Privacy breaches
- Lack of trust in identity and privacy claims
- Disconnected silos of information
- Duplicated effort and expense
OARnet, under the governance of the Ohio Board of Regents Chief Information Officer Advisory Board, decided in 2010 to formalize a trusted identity program. That program, IAMOhio, is a trusted identity system designed to serve research and computing activities for scores of public and private higher education institutions, K-12 schools, public broadcasting stations, healthcare facilities, and state and local governments throughout Ohio.
This federated system of authentication makes it possible for students and faculty to access resources at multiple campuses through a single, trusted account. Additional benefits include:
- A single ID for every single user
- A standard method to access applications and services
- Less opportunity to breach identity data
- Individual control of identity and trust
- Connected fabric of services
- Reduce duplication, support costs
Download overview (PDF).