Secure Electronic Services Provider ELM Manages Identities of Saudi Government Program Users with WSO2 Identity Server

ELM implements single sign-on with WSO2 Identity Server to streamline administration, improve productivity, and reduce costs of Saudi Arabia’s Unemployment Assistance Program

Palo Alto, CA – December 4, 2013 – WSO2 today announced that ELM, a trusted provider of secure electronic services in Saudi Arabia, has implemented WSO2 Identity Server. ELM now relies on WSO2 Identity Server to manage users of the system supporting the Saudi national Unemployment Assistance Program, and ensure secure online transactions. A new case study that describes the implementation can be downloaded by visiting https://tinyurl.com/ELMCaseStudy.

The new ELM case study from WSO2 describes the technology drivers for moving to single sign-on (SSO), key architectural decisions, and how the implementation was completed in two months. Among the topics covered in the case study are how:

  • ELM examined the differences between OpenID and the Security Assertion Markup Language 2.0 (SAML 2.0), and ultimately selected OpenID.
  • The architecture combines SSO through WSO2 Identity Server and two firewalls to provide users with secure access to the Unemployment Assistance Program system.
  • Role-based access control (RBAC) convention, fine-grained policy based access control, and SSO bridging, help to reduce identity provisioning time, guarantee secure online interactions, and deliver a reduced single sign-on environment.
  • ELM’s SSO implementation has helped to improve productivity, centralize management and reporting, and reduce helpdesk costs while increasing security.

“The SSO environment implemented with WSO2 Identity Server has fully met our expectations and is enabling us to realize the goals we set out for simplifying our user identity administration,” said Abdullah Al Tahhan, a senior project manager at ELM. “We are quite pleased with WSO2’s technology, but more than anything, when we think of future engagements, we are going to think of WSO2 because of the great support.”

“As a recognized innovator in delivering safe e-services via electronic portals for government and financial sectors, ELM understands first-hand the importance of simplifying access while offering uncompromised security,” said Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana, WSO2 founder and CEO. “We are excited by ELM’s success in using WSO2 Identity Server to provide single sign-on for Hafiz system users. Now it is easier than ever to access Hafiz services while protecting the data of the Saudi government and the citizens they serve.”

About ELM

ELM is a Saudi Joint Stock Company owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is the investment arm of the Saudi Ministry of Finance. ELM services are provided to all forms of beneficiaries, including government, corporate sector and individuals. ELM also aims to create the largest eco-system, which allows the rightful sharing of data and information by various parties and from multiple sources. This platform allows the information providers and information consumers to transact information through secure e-channels. This eco-system also allows ELM's technology partners to produce innovative solutions by integrating their services with ELM. For more information, visit www.elm.sa.

About WSO2

WSO2 is the lean enterprise middleware company. It delivers the only complete open source enterprise SOA middleware stack purpose-built as an integrated platform to support today’s heterogeneous enterprise environments—internally and in the cloud. WSO2’s service and support team is led by technical experts who have proven success in deploying enterprise SOAs and contribute to the technology standards that enable them. For more information, visit https://wso2.com or check out the WSO2 community on the WSO2 Blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and FriendFeed..