Latest polyright platform enables multi-function ID
card management for customers including Zurich University
of the Arts
ZURICH, Switzerland, October 23, 2012 - Multicard, a
leading supplier of identity management and credential
solutions, as well as system integration services, and a
business unit of Identive Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: INVE,
Frankfurt: INV), today announced an advanced new version of
its polyright software platform that enables the
integration of identity management, access, payment and
related functions onto a single identification credential.
Addressing the growing trend towards all-in-one ID cards,
the new polyright V5 platform provides web-based,
centralized management of cardholder rights for a variety
of security, financial and productivity applications for
campus, enterprise and healthcare environments.
"Multi-function ID cards are gaining traction in a variety
of areas, especially in campus environments where there are
multiple types of users with diverse identity management
and access privilege needs. Nearly two-thirds of
universities and a growing number of colleges and secondary
schools in Switzerland already use the polyright identity
management platform to provide students, faculty and staff
with a single ID credential that allows each cardholder the
appropriate level of access to the computer network and to
campus dormitories and facilities, and also enables payment
at the cafeteria and for library, printing and copy
services. This latest version of the polyright platform
includes tighter and easier integration of different ID
functions as well as new Internet-based access for both
program administrators and cardholders, including planned
apps for mobile devices such as the iPad®. This brings
additional convenience and department-level account
management to our already popular multi-function identity
management platform," said Thierry Gattlen, general manager
of Multicard Switzerland.
The advanced polyright V5 platform seamlessly connects to
Multicard's polypurse™ e-wallet, which provides the web
interface and transaction software that allows cardholders
to buy a coffee at the campus café, rent a bicycle or
perform other payment and loyalty functions using their
campus ID cards. The cards are easily reloaded with cash
value over the Internet by linking to bank accounts or
credit cards. Tightly integrated with the new platform is
polyright ID Manager, a comprehensive identity management
module capable of setting cardholder rights for physical
access, network access, e-purse functions, net printing and
copying, and other applications. polyright ID Manager works
with multiple RFID card technologies, including LEGIC®,
MIFARE™ and others, to support mixed-user environments.
One of the first customers to benefit from the new
polyright V5 platform is the Zurich University of the Arts
(ZHdK). MC polyright, a division of Multicard, is
implementing the new platform for ZHdK to enable all of the
more than 2,500 students and 1,200 faculty and staff to use
their university-issued ID cards for a variety of daily
activities around campus. The system will allow
administrators to issue and renew ID cards, personalize
them, and most importantly, manage all the access rights
for each cardholder on multiple applications from one
central platform. This means changes to user privileges
only need to be made one time to be effective for all
applications on a given card, rather than updated
individually for each application for which that user has
rights. In addition, MC polyright is providing the
university with point-of-sale terminals, readers and
implementation services to enable the ID cards to be used
for payment at campus cafeterias, bistros, vending machines
and the library. The ID cards are also accepted for payment
by more than 40 multi-functional printers on campus and
allow faculty and staff to charge print/copy service fees
back to their respective departments. The comprehensive
identity management solution will also support inter-campus
physical access control. Students of the adjacent Zurich
University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) may be granted guest
access to certain facilities and services on the arts
campus, with ID cards issued and managed using the new
polyright platform.
"We are excited to be implementing a single-card identity
management solution on our campus, and happy to have found
a strong partner in MC polyright," said Alessandra
Zanotelli, ZHdK facility manager and director of the
Toni-Areal ID management project that includes the ZHdK
campus. "In the past, every activity requiring some sort of
ID management was handled by a separate solution, each with
its own philosophy and without coordination. This was
cumbersome and expensive to manage and made it very
difficult to add new services such as cashless payment.
Multicard's integrated ID solution provides automated and
efficient coordination between all functions, with
centralized management of access privileges for each of the
functions. The strong reputation of the polypurse e-wallet
solution in Switzerland was also a deciding factor for
us."
Multicard is now offering its polyright V5 software to new
and current customers, which include the University of
Zurich and six other universities in Switzerland, numerous
colleges and secondary schools, large corporations
including Philip Morris, SICPA Holding, Kudelski Group and
Securitas, and several private hospitals.
About Multicard:
Multicard, a business unit of Identive Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:
INVE; Frankfurt: INV), is a worldwide supplier of card
solutions for secure identification programs, with in