Insync Solutions to deploy Okta to all South Australian public schools

South Australian identity and security specialist Insync Solutions will deploy Okta Identity Cloud to manage education applications and resources for some 280,000 staff and students across the state.

The contract is part of the South Australian Department of Education’s EdPass project, a state-wide initiative to implement standardised identity management, access and security across all government schools in the state. 

The identity and access management contract is valued at $8.8 million and was awarded to Insync Solutions by the SA government in May of this year. The EdPass project also incorporates Micro Focus identity technology, which is also being provided by Insync as part of the same contract.

It is understood Micro Focus technology will be involved at the back end, while Okta Single Sign-On will provide other core functionality as well as serving as the user interface and dashboard for users.

EdPass will be used in 900 schools across the state, supporting about 250,000 students and 30,000 staff members.

The solution is designed to give students and staff secure access to multiple apps for online learning and collaboration, and departmental accounts from anywhere, using a single set of credentials. The rollout is expected to be completed by mid-2021.

Insync Solutions director Paul Williamson said it was great to see Okta being an enabler for the EdPass project.

“We are extremely proud to be part of this digital transformation that will shape the way education is delivered in South Australian schools,” he said. 

South Australian education department CIO Scott Bayliss said EdPass would remove disruptions to the learning experience through secure simplified login and easy access to education applications. 

“Reducing the burden of multiple logins and needing to remember different credentials for different apps saves teachers and students time so they focus on the work that really matters – improving educational outcomes for students across South Australia,” Bayliss said.

Okta’s APAC general manager Graham Sowden said Okta was committed to the mission of helping Australian schools become increasingly digital and future-proofing learning infrastructure. 

“The EdPass solution enables staff and students in South Australia to seamlessly and securely access the essential tools they need to support teaching and learning from anywhere. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with Insync Solutions through the implementation of the EdPass project with the SA Department for Education and beyond,” he said.