NZForex was the first customer to go live with Cloud Identity Integrator.
The enhancements to the RealMe services provide two key services. These are a secure, centralised authentication solution for end users accessing the online services of government, and the ability to send pre-validated identity and address information over the internet in real time to establish a new relationship with a service provider, available in both public and the private sectors. Previously this required you to front up in person with identity documents or for copies of original documents to be sent by mail.
The Challenge
RealMe represents a thought-leading, robust, secure, and privacy-protecting solution. The value of the RealMe assurance service is its ability to guarantee the link between an individual and the information they are asserting online. As with any new innovative service, it faces the challenge of building services offering RealMe at the same time as building the customer user base.
The Solution
As the solution vendor for the igovt services since 2004, and more recently the RealMe solution, Datacom has been in a unique position of observing these challenges and the business barriers they create. To assist in addressing these issues, Datacom decided to invest in developing simple, fit for purpose integration solutions for igovt /RealMe from 2007.
These products initially started as on-premise, locally installed solutions. However with a significant change in the way organisations procure software, Datacom has brought an innovative software as a service (SaaS) solution for RealMe integration to market, called the Cloud Identity Integrator. As a SaaS solution, the Cloud Identity Integrator lowers the bar even further for organisations wanting to explore the possibilities of RealMe.
The Cloud Identity Integrator was a progression from the successful on premise solution, the Identity Integrator. Hosting Identity Integrator in the cloud lowers capital cost for organisations and further reduces the complexity of implementing RealMe.
Originally developed in 2009, the Identity Integrator has a range of satisfied customers across government and the private sector. Taking the base Identity Integrator product, Datacom spent two months making it multi-tenanted and cloud-ready. It was then subjected to a range of audits and tests from external parties to ensure it passed high security and privacy standards.
NZForex, part of the OzForex group, was the first customer to go live with Cloud Identity Integrator. They were particularly interested in the cost savings offered by using RealMe to on-board new customers, but wanted a quick and low capital spend approach to integrating. After being introduced to Datacom by the RealMe business development team, NZForex with the Cloud Identity Integrator team worked together to get their integration up and running quickly and simply, with a minimum of fuss.
“We believe our customers will welcome the additional convenience. For customers with a RealMe identity they no longer have to fax or scan identity verification documents to sign up for the service. By streamlining the onboarding process further it improves our efficiency, reduces administrative costs and minimises risk from the transaction process.”
Neil Helm – OzForex Group CEO
Results
- Reduced time to market for organisations keen to differentiate their brand by adopting RealMe
- A robust technical solution that has been scrutinised to very high levels of both security and privacy
- Pre-developed integration libraries and a simple commercial model provide hassle-free onboarding
Technologies Delivered
Cloud Identity Integrator provides a simplified application integration interface. Pre-configured for SAML 2.0 integration with the RealMe assertion service, and run on a secure platform hosted by Datacom, applications interact with Cloud Identity Integrator simply through browser redirects. Messages received from Cloud Identity Integrator are easily decrypted using a library, of which Python, Perl, PHP, .NET and Java implementations are currently provided.
The Partnership
Datacom has had long-standing relationships with both NZ Post and New Zealand government agencies. Over decades, we have proven our ability to work with large-scale projects in a way that maintains the privacy and security of both the organisations we service and their customers.