Got help with centralizing and modernizing the login system

Eiendomsverdi AS monitors and records activity in the Norwegian housing market daily. The company’s databases include all properties in the country, and Eiendomsverdi always has a real-time picture of prices in all housing markets in the country.

Eiendomsverdi provides services to all of Norway’s housing banks, insurance companies, real estate agents, appraisers, property developers, debt collection agencies, and public enterprises.

Senior System Developer Ole Christian Melbostad and Senior System Developer and Scrum Master Anders Bragstad at Eiendomsverdi have worked on centralizing and modernizing the login options at Eiendomsverdi together with Håkon Jensen at Sicra.

– We have several different login solutions for our systems, and this project is also about solving the more demanding and special logins, says Anders Bragstad.

NEW IAM Solution

The project has been ongoing for a little over a year and will run until the first quarter of 2023.

– We are working on renewing our platform and creating new solutions, including a new, modern IAM solution that will fit into the new solutions we are developing. Eventually, we will also port old login solutions to a centralized login system, he explains.

An IAM solution (Identity Access Management) is a solution to provide users access to various parts of an IT system based on the user’s identity and roles.

– We have received help to set up an authentication solution for a new application we are currently developing, and got it to work with both communication between applications and APIs. We have also started on “federation,” and we are very satisfied with what has been done so far, confirms Ole Christian Melbostad.

“Federation” – unified identity – is a user identity that can be used across multiple organizations because the organizations have agreed on how to manage identities across organizational boundaries. This means a single login that crosses organizational boundaries.

– Understood our problem best

– Håkon Jensen has been an invaluable help in ensuring that we don’t make all the possible mistakes one can make in such an IAM project. Having access to specialized expertise in the field has allowed us to navigate this landscape safely, says Bragstad.

He adds that the IT department at Eiendomsverdi could not have solved this with only internal resources.

– At least not as well. We don’t have anyone with the depth of expertise that Håkon has.

Eiendomsverdi came across Sicra based on previous acquaintance. A colleague in the IT department had worked with Håkon Jensen before.

– When we were choosing an IAM solution, we considered several other providers, but it was Sicra and Håkon who best understood our problem and that Auth0 could be adapted to work with what we have, says Melbostad.

Both senior system consultants point out that with several different user groups, Eiendomsverdi had to create an IAM solution that would work well for all scenarios.

– For example, we have users who log in via broker systems, users who need to integrate login directly via API, and regular customers who use our web solutions. When we create a solution that covers all variations and takes into account all issues, it goes without saying that it requires careful consideration, says Bragstad.

– Furthermore, we are concerned that nothing we currently have stops working when we transition to the new IAM solution. We want customers to notice as little as possible, concludes Melbostad.