West’s SchoolMessenger Launches Ecosystem Program to Simplify Education Product Discovery and Deployment
Scotts Valley, CA (PRWEB) January 06, 2016 -- SchoolMessenger, the trusted platform for school community engagement and a part of West Corporation, today announced the addition of a new feature to SchoolMessenger Passport, its single sign-on product for school districts, as well as an important new program for education technology providers.
An updated Passport catalog and the new SchoolMessenger Ecosystem Program address pain points for both districts and companies: providing a method for schools to learn about and deploy new products within a controlled environment that keeps districts in control of the process.
Introduced last fall, SchoolMessenger Passport allows districts to provide teachers, staff, parents and students with quick and secure access to online learning applications, open educational resources (OER), and a variety of school management and administration software programs using single sign-on (SSO). That means each individual only has to remember one user ID and password to log into multiple district-approved educational resources, including SchoolMessenger products.
Both the free standard and paid premium versions of Passport include a catalog of “product connectors” that enable SSO to popular web-based services. With the launch of the SchoolMessenger Ecosystem Program, companies will be able to highlight additional services they can provide, such as allowing schools to use one-click account provisioning tools within the updated version of the Passport catalog. In all cases, there is no fee to school districts for these features. Companies, once selected, participate as Ecosystem Program members with benefits that include secure integrations for district-approved sharing of roster or similar data.
“Schools are often overwhelmed by the process of selecting and deploying web-based education products and securely sharing approved data with their service providers,” said Robert Iskander, general manager. “Companies frequently have trouble standing out in an increasing crowd of suppliers. The new SchoolMessenger Ecosystem Program solves these problems, introducing appropriate digital tools directly to districts.”
Both Passport and its enhanced catalog that supports the Ecosystem Program are built on established technology from EduTone Corporation. Designed specifically for education, EduTone’s access and identity management engine is proven as an underpinning of strong single sign-on tools that don’t get in the way of learning. EduTone itself has won several awards for its products, including multiple Software and Information Industry Association CODiE awards in the Best Solution for the K-12, Enterprise, and Education categories.
“We’re proud to have our SSO platform power SchoolMessenger Passport and its Ecosystem Program,” said Julian Mobbs, CEO of EduTone. “Partnerships with established brands, such as SchoolMessenger, and their trusted relationships with school leaders, make it possible to bring more efficient access and procurement solutions to more students and schools worldwide more quickly.”
The enhanced catalog feature of SchoolMessenger Passport is part of regular product updates and requires no action by districts. Companies who want to be considered as a SchoolMessenger Ecosystem Program partner can apply at http://www.schoolmessenger.com/partners or contact Carmi Paris, vice president of business development, at 888.527.5225 x475.
About SchoolMessenger
SchoolMessenger products, part of West Corporation, are K-12’s most-trusted communications solutions. Thousands of schools and other educational institutions in all 50 U.S. states and Canada depend on SchoolMessenger products and services. From notifications and websites to custom mobile apps and social media, school leaders have relied on the SchoolMessenger platform since 1999 to engage with their communities in multiple languages and on any device. To learn more about SchoolMessenger, visit http://www.schoolmessenger.com or call 888.527.5225.
About EduTone
EduTone provides schools with a more efficient and secure way to manage access to digital resources so they can refocus their energies on what’s most important. The Global Grid for Learning is a single sign-on platform that works on any device to provide users with a single username, password and point of access while DataZone is an SIS/LMS integration service that makes provisioning subscription services easier. EduTone serves schools and districts around the world directly, through resellers and through white label partners. EduTone is a privately held corporation headquartered in Alameda, California, with affiliated offices in the UK and Australia. To learn more, visit http://www.edutone.com or call 888.904.9773.
Lisa Wolfe, SchoolMessenger Public Relations, +1 (773) 278-2800, [email protected]
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