When it comes to routine tasks such as log-ins, even a little inconvenience can add up to a lot of cost over time. That's why Telecom Italia Lab turned to comForte SecurSSO. With SecurSSO, Telecom Italia Lab can integrate NonStop access controls with the corporate authentication infrastructure - and deliver true single sign-on convenience to users. As a result, users enjoy more productivity and convenience, and the company realizes significant, ongoing cost savings.
The Challenge
A long-time NonStop customer, Telecom Italia Lab has around 20 NonStop servers in operation. Given the sensitive nature of the data and applications residing on these systems, the security team had to comply with a host of security requirements, both at the legislative and corporate level.
To guard against unauthorized access to the company's NonStop platforms, the security team at Telecom Italia Lab had employed strong authentication, using mobile one-time password (MOTP) mechanisms. However, these authentication mechanisms were unique to the NonStop platform, and were implemented on a server-by-server basis, which meant that each time a user wanted to access a NonStop based application, they'd have to request a password specific to the associated server (using SMS, IVR, or Web), receive the password, and submit their credentials. Given many users frequently had to log in and out of various servers, this cumbersome process led to inconvenience and wasted time.
Consequently, Telecom Italia Lab sought a smarter, more efficient authentication method. They wanted to simplify the process for end users, and reduce the time it takes people to gain access to the systems they need to do their jobs. In addition, they wanted to leverage the centralized authentication processes and platforms that were already deployed at the corporate level.
The Solution
To achieve their objectives, the team at Telecom Italia Lab selected SecurSSO from comForte. SecurSSO is a true single sign-on solution for HP NonStop systems that uses the Kerberos authentication protocol to integrate with Microsoft's Active Directory.
The Benefits
With SecurSSO, users at Telecom Italia Lab can enjoy the benefits of true single sign-on convenience, which saves them time each time they need to access a NonStop-based system. Given the number of users and the rate of system usage these time savings amount to significant cost savings for the company.
About Telecom Italia Lab
Telecom Italia Lab is the Research, Testing and Engineering area of Telecom Italia Group that guarantees continuous development in the ICT services and technology field. Its researchers are committed to progress in the access and transport network areas by developing services and new platforms. All of these are based on a careful analysis of end-customer and business needs. Among the research activities currently underway, mention should be made of mobile communications, from 4G network to mobile-payment; new solutions based on sensor networks; emergence of new solutions to enjoy multimedia contents on TV or mobile device, and also OSS new solutions. Thanks to its close ties with Italian and other universities and research centres and industry, Telecom Italia Lab is bringing the future nearer with advanced services in many sectors for the home and business, guaranteeing quality and security.