Clever Identity Management (IDM), according to a news release, specifically automates provisioning and management of user accounts on Google Workspace and Microsoft Active Directory, a tool used by many school districts to manage access to apps and devices. Clever built the tool as a response to elevated concerns in K-12 school districts regarding security threats, especially given the increase in ed-tech use, the release said. Clever IDM aims to provide a boost in security and alleviate IT teams, which the release said have been stretched thin due to thwarting cyber criminals who have been targeting school districts.
“Over-stretched IT departments have become crafty problem solvers, manually patching up identity management issues with custom, case-by-case solutions, but it’s kind of like chronic back pain: it’s always there, everybody hates it, and it’s difficult to deal with,” said Clever’s Vice President of Sales Trish Sparks in a public statement.
What Clever IDM does is automatically create accounts for students, teachers and staff as they are added to a school district’s student information system. The news release said that roughly two-thirds of U.S. K-12 schools are using Clever’s digital platform, with which IDM integrates. The tool automatically adjusts the access, passwords and organizational units of any given user as they join, leave or change roles within the district, the release said. Building off of the identity management tool Clever introduced in early 2021, according to the release, IDM could save district administrators multiple hours a week. It costs $1 per year for each user and currently works with Google Workspace, with support for Microsoft Active Directory expected by the end of April, the release said.
Clever said in its news release that the tool’s account management syncs each night and undergoes audit reporting to ensure the right people always have access to the platform.
