OpenAthens helps veterinary professionals access online training content more seamlessly on the specialist atdove.org channel
DoveLewis, a US-based veterinary teaching hospital, created atdove.org – a video training channel that gives vets, technicians, managers, and associated professionals a hands-on, unscripted view of specialist procedures and practice.
The challenges
The business challenge, for DoveLewis, is to keep clients happy by ensuring that the process of signing in to atdove.org is as streamlined as possible.
Acting in response to a client suggestion, it looked for a single sign-on (SSO) solution which would mean users only have to use credentials of their home organisation – improving the experience for users.
“We didn’t want login and access to be an impediment to day-to-day practice. It’s about respecting the user and improving the experience.”
The solution
After initial difficulty in implementing single sign-on using SAML – the technology on which federated access management is based – DoveLewis turned to OpenAthens for a simpler answer: Keystone.
The lightweight Keystone solution offers cloud-based access management – simplifying the implementation of SSO. Working with a third-party consultant, DoveLewis was able to implement a solution within just three months.
This helped DoveLewis to move forward.
“I appreciate expediency on a project. It helps keep energy up – and avoids languishing in analysis paralysis. One of the reasons for the smooth implementation was OpenAthens’s ability to understand DoveLewis’s needs. From day one, they were helpful and never made me feel stupid for asking technical questions. From a customer service standpoint, OpenAthens were exceptional.”
The benefits
As a result, atdove.org is able to meet user expectations of having immediate access to online training content – without having to remember multiple log-ins.
For example, users are already used to logging in to multiple apps via thumbprint on their phones, so they can expect a similarly seamless experience in other contexts.
“If you’d asked me a few years ago: ‘How much of a roadblock is logging in?’ I’m sure you’d have had a different answer. But simple things make a difference.”
Lessons learned
From a marketing point of view, Tess says she has learned about the importance of continuous innovation.
"Just because we hit ‘go’ on a project, doesn’t mean we’re done learning", says Tess. "We’re trying to be as nimble and open-minded as possible - and that includes responding to clients and understanding the user experience."
In the future, SSO could play more of a role in DoveLewis’s internal systems. The act of putting in a username and password seems like small potatoes – but I would not be surprised if we used SSO one day"
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