Anxious about Authentication?
Jinfo Blog

By Robin Neidorf

Abstract

Are you overloaded with authentication and terms such as IP, Single Sign-On,  SAML, EZProxy and Good? Take a look at the resources we've developed to help information managers cope with the anxiety of authentication - they're part of the Topic Series, "All About Usage".

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We at FreePint often remind everyone (including ourselves) that information success depends on three elements working in alignment: right content, right technology, right user behaviour.

Nowhere is this three-part system more in evidence than when we work on the challenge of authentication and seamless access to content:

• The user behaviour we're going for is easy access to the information they want and need, wherever it may reside

• The content may be licensed or internal, premium or free, but it needs to be selected carefully

• And then the technology interface is where things get tricky - how do vendors, systems, information managers and users all "agree" through the interface that a given user can have access?

It's one of the biggest headaches facing organisations today. 

As part of the Topic Series, "All About Usage", we've developed a range of resources to help information managers cope with the anxiety of authentication. Whether you're just starting to investigate options, have been working on the problem for years, or know that it's coming in your future, you'll find something helpful:

• Check out Isabelle Garcia's helpful introductory article on "Approaches to Authentication". She lays out the main concepts and key vocabulary you need to make progress in this field

• We're lucky to have Isabelle presenting at the upcoming FreePint Webinar, "Authentication Primer: Which Approach Does What?" (10 September; will be recorded) - register to join us, and bring a counterpart from your IT department

• Customers with a Community-level subscription or higher can discuss the challenges of authentication in greater detail during September's Communities of Practice teleconferences: "Tackling the Authentication Challenge" (15 September is full, but seats available for 17 September)

• Meanwhile, our original research published in the FreePint Report: Research into Authentication 2015 provides a data-based overview of how different organisations are tackling this challenge.

If you don't yet have a FreePint Subscription and authentication is giving you anxiety, now is the time to consider subscribing.

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