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By Matt MacIntosh, Product Manager Hosted Solutions, AMAG Technology

The newest Symmetry CONNECT Identity Management version adds the ability to enforce a single active credential and support for marking a credential as inactive or lost.

Single Active Credential:

With the ‘Single Active Credential’ functionality, administrators can allow users to have only one active credential either by credential type or across all card types. This feature ensures that when a new credential is activated, all other credentials associated with the same identity are marked as inactive. This helps organizations to automatically reduce the risk of unused credentials remaining active and usable.

Credential Status Enhancements:

In addition to this, administrators can now mark credentials as either inactive or lost. This feature is useful as it allows them to temporarily disable a credential without having to expire it or mark a credential as lost when reported. These new credential statuses will sync up with Symmetry, marking the credential as forced inactive or forced inactive and lost, thereby allowing the proper alarm to be generated if the credential is used. This enhancement brings credential management in CONNECT more in line with the capabilities found in Symmetry.

Issues Resolved:

• We have addressed an issue where rotated photos were not uploaded correctly to Symmetry when adding them via the Public API.

• We have addressed an issue where employee credentials got updated with the same active/inactive dates as the temporary credentials received from Symmetry GUEST.

• We have addressed an issue where card updates are not processing to Symmetry panels.

• We have addressed an issue where when proxying an ACR would have incorrect permissions.

• We have addressed an issue where active audits were displayed in the ACRM screen even though the audits feature was turned OFF.

• We have addressed an issue where credentials would end up in a stale state if activated after the request has expired.

• We have addressed an issue where visitor welcome emails were not set when using Gmail or MS Outlook Calendar integration.

• We have addressed an issue where the identity filter for UDF was not working in conjunction with other filters in IDM.

• We have addressed an issue where users could not select terminated, expired, or suspended identities as a filter option in connect reports.

• We have addressed an issue where sync to PACs would default to the legacy card type instead of the selected one when syncing on Access groups only.

Coming Soon…

• Roles-based approvals

• Self-registration kiosk enhancements

• Ability to filter select reports by building

Watch for these enhancements in the next blog.

To learn more about Symmetry GUEST or Symmetry CONNECT, please call 1-800-889-9138.

Get Your Hosted Solutions Tech Update

By Matt MacIntosh, Product Manager Hosted Solutions, AMAG Technology

The newest Symmetry CONNECT Identity Management version includes several bug fixes.

Key Issues Resolved:

• We have addressed an issue where the identity filter for user-defined fields was not working in conjunction with other filters in IDM.

• We have addressed an issue where users could not select terminated, expired, or suspended identities as a filter option in CONNECT reports.

• We have addressed an issue where the “Sync to PACS” functionality would default to the legacy card type instead of the selected default card type when syncing via the Access Groups Only option.

• We have addressed an issue whereby Credential expiration was occasionally not being applied.

Coming Soon…

• Ability to enforce a single active credential

• Roles-based approvals

Watch for these enhancements in the next blog.

To learn more about Symmetry GUEST or Symmetry CONNECT, please call 1-800-889-9138.

Get Your Hosted Solutions Tech Update

By Matt MacIntosh, Product Manager Hosted Solutions, AMAG Technology

The newest Symmetry CONNECT Identity Management version (v1.71.00) adds the ability to associate multiple managers with an identity, in addition to several bug fixes.

Support for Multiple Managers

The Symmetry IDM now allows up to three managers to be linked with one identity. This feature enables the creation of a hierarchy of identities, where higher-level managers, like department or division managers, have visibility and control over all the identities they supervise. Additionally, this update permits identities beyond the direct manager to be utilized in making workflow decisions regarding access requests, credential requests, and visit approvals. For instance, although the team lead is the direct manager for an identity, access decisions must be approved by the department manager.

Key Issues Resolved:

• ZD190883 – We have addressed an issue where Identity Photos were not appearing on Visits in GUEST if the Identity was subject to Expiry or Suspension.

• ZD191134 – We have addressed inconsistencies with Access Group Sync Statuses displaying as Synced when set for future Activation.

• ZD190353 – We have addressed an issue where Resync Integrations was not processing all affected Identities and Cardholders.

• We have resolved an issue where deleting the identity’s primary photo was not updating Symmetry with the correct identity photo.

• We have resolved an issue where the Visit Approval screen was showing the host’s building instead of the building where the visit was taking place.

• Resolved an issue where the Public API returned a 404 Not Found error when calling the accessgroupbyname operation, and the access group contained a slash “/.”

Coming Soon…

• Support for Passport scanning in GUEST

• Ability to enforce a single active credential

• Roles-based approvals

Watch for these enhancements in the next blog.

To learn more about Symmetry GUEST or Symmetry CONNECT, please call 1-800-889-9138.

Get Your Hosted Solutions Tech Update

By Matt MacIntosh, Product Manager Hosted Solutions, AMAG Technology

The newest Symmetry CONNECT Identity Management version increases administrators’ flexibility when managing identities. In addition, it provides updates to bulk add credentials via the public API and re-enables the onboarding process.

Ability to Define Identity Fields by Identity Type

Symmetry CONNECT allows an administrator to define what fields should both be displayed and required for an identity. This functionality has been enhanced to allow this selection to be made based on the identity type, employee or non-employee. This enhancement will enable organizations to set up different fields to be collected for an internal identity (such as an employee) than for an external identity such as a vendor or contractor. Different types of identities require different information to be collected, and this enhancement allows for that.

In addition, fields can not be marked as editable or not-editable, allowing administrators to remove the ability to update select fields via the UI. This allows fields that are updated from an HR feed to be locked and not updateable outside the feed.

Public API Updates

The Public API has been updated to allow for the bulk update of access associated with identities. With these updates, multiple access groups can be added or removed from multiple identities. This allows for more to be done from a single call, simplifying the interaction between external integrations and CONNECT.

In addition, the ability to update the access group’s expiration date without providing any additional information has been added, as well as the ability from on-premise customers to increase the rate of calls the Public API will accept. These changes aim to simplify and increase the flexibility of interacting with CONNECT via an external integration.

Onboarding Updates

The CONNECT onboarding process has been a process that was run once when an access control system was introduced to the system. During this time, all identities in the access control system are either mapped to IDM identities, added to the system, or removed from the access control system. The result is CONNECT and the access control system being entirely in sync. This process has been updated to allow this to be re-enabled and restarted rather than just a one-and-done occurrence. With this enhancement, CONNECT can now address scenarios where the access control system and CONNECT get out of sync, and identities, access groups, or credentials have been added to the access control system and brought up to CONNECT.

Coming Soon…

• Support for Multiple Managers

• Support for Passport scanning in GUEST

• Ability to enforce a single active credential

Watch for these enhancements in the next blog.

To learn more about Symmetry GUEST or Symmetry CONNECT, please contact AMAG’s Business Development team or call 1-800-889-9138.

By Matt MacIntosh, Product Manager Hosted Solutions, AMAG Technology

The newest versions of Symmetry CONNECT Identity Management add additional workflow options for access requests including access to be able to be approved by only a manager. Also added is the ability to manage unknown cardholders which are cardholders in Symmetry but not in CONNECT.

Additional Access Requests Workflow

Access Request workflows now do not have to have an Access Control Representative Manager (ACRM) or Access Control Representative (ACR) as part of the workflow allowing several possible options that were not possible before. These include workflows where the identities manager has to approve but no one else, or simply an option where identities must request access but no one must approve it, making it so it is assigned once requested. Access that is part of workflows with no ACRM or ACR will be shown as unmanaged as no identity will directly own the access and with such this access will not be auditable.

Ability to Manage Unknown Cardholders

The unknown cardholder widget in Symmetry CONNECT displays cardholders that are in the access control system but not linked to an identity in CONNECT. This widget has been updated to allow for cardholders displayed to be imported as non-employees or deleted directly from CONNECT no longer requiring this to be handled in the access control system. When importing the unknown cardholder any access or credentials they have assigned to them in Symmetry will be imported with the identity.

Coming Soon…

• Ability to re-enable onboarding in Symmetry CONNECT

• Support for Multiple Managers

• Ability to configure screen configurations by the identity type

Watch for these enhancements in the next blog.

To learn more about Symmetry GUEST or Symmetry CONNECT, please contact AMAG’s Business Development team or call 1-800-889-9138.

By Matt MacIntosh, Product Manager Hosted Solutions, AMAG Technology

Symmetry Mobile v1.27.6 will improve the flexibility of the application by introducing more configurations both in the Admin portal and Sync Tool. It also improves the security and performance of the application.

Offline Line Credential Enhancements

Credential groups can now disable the offline Credential Lifetime and Removal options. This will prevent credentials from being disabled or removed if they are not able to connect back to the main server. This can be a frustrating occurrence if the cardholder only uses the mobile application once and a while. By disabling this functionality for credential groups assigned to these cardholders, this frustration can be eliminated.

Admin Portal auto log off

The Admin Portal will now automatically log out after a period of inactivity and presents a

message informing the user “Your session has expired due to inactivity”. This improves both the security of the application as well as providing a more intuitive experience. Please note the default timeout value is twenty minutes.

Credential Image scaling

Images that exceed 1920×1080 will be automatically scaled down to 1920×1080. This enhances the performance of the application by minimizing the image size that needs to be sent and decreases the storage use of photos by the application.

Symmetry Mobile Sync Tool – Filter Criteria options

The Mobile Sync Tool now allows users to better control what credentials assigned to Symmetry cardholders should be synchronized with Symmetry Mobile. Credentials can be filtered by:

• Customer Code

• Credential Type

• Card Number Range

These filters allow users to ensure that only credentials that need to be in Symmetry Mobile will be and can help reduce the possibility of duplicate credentials being added for a cardholder. It also provides administrators with better control of which card holders in Symmetry should receive a mobile credential.

Be on the lookout for this updated version of Symmetry Mobile when it is released later this month.

To learn more about Symmetry Mobile, please contact a sales representative or call 1-800-889-9138.

Get Your Hosted Solutions Tech Update

By Matt MacIntosh, Product Manager Hosted Solutions, AMAG Technology

The newest versions of Symmetry CONNECT Identity Management and Symmetry GUEST Visitor Management add support for authentication via Active Directory when the system is installed on-premises.

Support for Active Directory Authentication

On-Premises customers can set up and configure their system to authenticate users against their Active Directory (LDAP) systems. Administrators can select this option over the basic user authentication or SAML-based single sign-on options. When enabled, users will be able to log into GUEST or CONNECT using the same username and password they use to access their work laptops. In addition, password rules and assignments can be managed from a single location, reducing the workload on IT departments.

Ability to Get User Role Information via the PublicAPI

A new operation has been added to the PublicAPI that allows for identity roles to be returned via a single API call. The new method allows for results to be limited to one or multiple roles. This new method allows for easier external auditing of the roles identities hold in the system.

Coming Soon…

• Enhancements to the access request workflow

• Visitor as an Identity

• Unknown Cardholder Widget Enhancements

Watch for these enhancements in the next blog.

To learn more about Symmetry GUEST or Symmetry CONNECT, please contact a sales representative or call 1-80-889-9138.