A Case for Cloud-Based ID Card Printing

For the past two decades, companies and institutions wishing to implement an ID card system have had to resort to the same limitations plaguing the ID card issuance industry, such as:

  • struggling with clunky software
  • having to bounce between applications
  • incurring substantial shipping expenses to have credentials delivered
  • wasting hours waiting on print queues by locally maintained printers

Today’s organizations face a multitude of challenges involving the management of and expenses related to ID card printing, including maintenance headaches and increased security demands. However, they don’t have to.

CASE STUDY:

Take the case of the University of Connecticut (UConn), a high-ranking public research institution tasked with securing the university for its 32,000 under- and post-graduate students and more than 9,000 faculty and staff. UConn administrators sought a solution to the multifaceted challenge of not just securing its five campuses spanning 4,000 acres, but allowing several layers of access to spaces such as dormitories, labs, and research facilities, plus the ability to conduct essential day-to-day tasks, such as copying, printing and dining hall services.

Previously, the university’s card solution had utilized proximity and magstripe technologies, which can easily be cloned. Administrators recognized that they had a security vulnerability problem after one of their honors students completed his thesis on their ID card’s security flaws, which further reinforced the case that they needed to upgrade their cards. 

However, in an effort to execute a phased, university-wide transition to an updated one-card ecosystem, UConn administrators sought a solution that was capable of increasing security, while retaining magstripe and proximity technology. 

Moreover, they wanted to minimize student wait times by consolidating their credential issuance process into one easy-to-manage, in-house system.

SOLUTION:

UConn partnered with an identification solutions provider and selected HID Global’s Seos credential technology to re-card the entire university. 

As a result, UConn eliminated security vulnerabilities without any disruption to university life by re-carding its access control system with HID Seos cards across its campuses in a phased approach. Moving forward, UConn’s One Card office anticipates it will print and encode around 18,000 cards annually in-house using HID® FARGO® Connect™. 

KEY FEATURES:

HID® FARGO® Connect™ is a cloud-based card issuance platform that simplifies and combines all the elements of a secure card issuance program into a centralized and integrated system. 

  • No dedicated PC workstations required for printing
  • Design cards, capture data & print anywhere from any device
  • Remotely track printer activity, maintenance & diagnostics
  • Automatic software updates
  • Distribute print jobs across multiple printers or locations
  • Securely print at remote locations – eliminate card shipping fees
  • End-to-end encryption of all sensitive data
  • Fully hosted cloud or on-premise options available

With centralized control and visibility, organizations can issue credentials from any device with distributed inline personalization and a unified user interface. Now you can save time and money without compromising the security of your operations.

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