Leading German Financial Optimisation Company enables secure single sign-on for remote agents
RSA Conference, Barcelona— RSA Security Inc. (NASDAQ: RSAS) announced today the implementation of RSA ClearTrust® web access management and RSA SecurID® authentication solutions at AWD Deutschland GmbH, Europe’s leading independent financial adviser. The implementation, it is planned, will enable secure remote access for AWD’s agents throughout the country and also enable immediate calculation of quotations on individual products for customers.
AWD represents a number of leading financial providers and offers an independent service to its customers to guide them in choosing the best solution, such as pensions or insurance, for their circumstances. AWD operates through a network of 3,500 agents located across Germany.
“The goals for AWD were clear,” commented Radboud Beumer, Manager of the Enterprise Solutions Group for RSA Security EMEA. “By implementing the combination of RSA ClearTrust and RSA SecurID solutions, together with our specialised system integrator networkers AG, AWD has been able to meet its need for remote, auditable access for all its agents throughout Germany that is not only simple but also secure.”
RSA SecurID two-factor authentication is based on something you know (a password or PIN) and something you have (an authenticator)—providing a much more reliable level of user authentication than reusable passwords.
RSA Security’s RSA ClearTrust web access management solution is engineered to offer seamless, scalable integration within complex e-business infrastructures. Easy to deploy, this solution provides strong security, comprehensive user management capabilities and flexible access control options.
“Because of the nature of our business, we need to have 100% confidence in our security arrangements”, said Mr. Jürgen Rössler, Director IT at AWD. “This new implementation gives our agents a simple process to gain secure access to our network. Through doing this, they can now offer the whole AWD-Software (financial planning software, online calculations of individual products) to our customers. This, in turn, will mean we can offer a faster service to our customers.”
“Single sign-on is designed to make the log-on process straightforward for all our agents,” added Mr. Rössler, “and we expect to cut administration costs significantly by reducing the number of calls to the Helpdesk to reset accounts when passwords have been forgotten.
The implementation was managed by RSA’s professional services team and involved integration with more than 10 major applications, including several BEA WebLogic applications and external investment applications.
Notes to Editors
About RSA Security Inc.
RSA Security Inc. helps organisations protect private information and manage
the identities of people and applications accessing and exchanging that information.
RSA Security’s portfolio of solutions – including identity &
access management, secure mobile & remote access, secure enterprise access,
secure transactions and consumer identity protection – are all designed
to provide the most seamless e-security experience in the market. Our strong
reputation is built on our history of ingenuity, leadership, proven technologies
and our more than 15,000 customers around the globe. Together with more than
1,000 technology and integration partners, RSA Security inspires confidence
in everyone to experience the power and promise of the Internet. For more information,
please visit www.rsasecurity.com.
About AWD
AWD today is the leading independent financial adviser (IFA) group in Europe,
with headquarters in Hanover, Germany. AWD runs IFA businesses in 11 countries:
Germany (since 1988), Austria (since 1991), Switzerland (since 1992), the UK
(since 2001), Italy (since 2002), the Czech Republic and another five countries
in Central Eastern Europe (since 2003). AWD’s Group turnover in 2003 rose
by 21% from EUR 463.3 m to EUR 560 m, significantly higher than the sector average.
Earnings before Interest and Tax (EBIT) were more than four times in excess
of the previous year’s figures, up by EUR 13.2 m to EUR 55 m. AWD’s
profitability/turnover ratio was thereby once again over-proportional. The EBIT
margin significantly improved by 7 percentage points to 9.8%.
