All 1,200 employees of Åstorp municipality in Sweden will get multifunctional ID cards. “The cards can be used for everything, including visual identification, logins, door opening and follow-me printing. This is a hygiene factor that makes everyday life smoother and safer for our employees,” says Lena Mårtensson Stenudd, head of the municipality.
Previously, Åstorp municipality had a variety of solutions for different types of digital and physical access – or no solutions at all, according to Mårtensson Stenudd.
Secure access to computers and buildings
“When I started work here, the systems were very confusing, so I felt that we needed to get security in our everyday lives via secure access to computers and systems as well as to buildings. One example is that we had difficulty keeping paper copies confidential: when someone clicked ‘print,’ the copy was printed straight away, and it could even be in another building. With the new solution, the copy will not be printed until the card is presented to the printer,” says Mårtensson Stenudd.
She previously worked at the Swedish Migration Agency, where this type of multifunctional ID card has long been seen as a necessity.
“In addition to making everyday life more efficient, smarter and more in accordance to the law, the cards also contribute to a sense of belonging at the workplace. Instead of a nameplate that does not prove anything at all, everyone now gets a card that gives legitimacy and shows that they really work in the municipality,” says Mårtensson Stenudd.
The Nexus solution for multifunctional IDs
The new multi-access solution consists of multifunctional ID cards with photos along with software to manage different kinds of both physical and digital access. The solution also includes ID life-cycle management capabilities with self-service components to handle the cards, says Patrick Zangaro, sales manager for the public sector at the vendor Nexus Group.
“This is our flagship solution. We have competitors for each component in the multifunctional ID solution, but Nexus is the only company that can deliver the whole package with one single administrative interface. You do not have to replace any of your existing systems – our solution operates as a layer on top of your other systems, so that you can streamline your processes and avoid the limitations of each of your existing systems,” says Zangaro.