The announcement by Entrust to end sales and support for ID Works marks a major turning point for the campus card industry and card issuance. The card issuance solution's end-of-life will lead universities to make both software and hardware decisions that will impact their card programs for years to come.

To help universities prep for this decision, ColorID’s Product Management team will host a series of informational webinars dedicated to the migration from ID Works to the next step in card issuance. "The webinars will look at Transact’s new proprietary Entrust-based identity solution, CBORD’s new ID issuance offerings that include an integration with Fargo Connect, and a host of other alternatives," says David Stallsmith, Director of Product Management at ColorID.

"It's a big topic that impacts a lot of campuses. More than a hundred IT directors, IT support staff, campus administrators and card office staff registered for the webinars in the first 48 hours."

ID Works is currently no longer available for purchase from Entrust, and in one year support for the software will also be discontinued. Thus the time is now for campuses to start weighing their options.

“Any software unsupported may run for years if you keep the same workstation and don’t upgrade anything, but the reality is that you’re only one Windows update away from it possibly never working again,” explains Stallsmith. “That’s the risk. A lot of institutions will just use it until they can’t any longer.”

But it is a risk that many campuses may not be ready or willing to accept.

ID Works became the de facto ID issuance software nearly twenty years ago. “Both CBORD and Transact are long-time proponents of ID Works, but the two providers each have their own approach to the way they use the software,” says Stallsmith.

It’s for this reason that ColorID’s webinar series will split into two separate paths, one set of presentations for Transact customers and another set for CBORD customers. This approach is designed to enable ColorID to better delve into the details of each specific ecosystem.

ID Works for CBORD customers – webinar dates:

• Thursday, April 1st @ 1pm EDT
• ​Thursday, April 15th @ 1pm EDT

ID Works for Transact customers – webinar dates:

• Tuesday, March 30th @ 1pm EDT
• ​Tuesday, April 13th @ 1pm EDT

To better frame the webinar series, Stallsmith poses a simple question: When you don’t have ID Works anymore, what would you like your ID system to do?

“It used to be take a picture, print a card, and encode a magstripe. But now most schools have much more complex, attached processes and add-ons,” he explains. “So if you’re looking to go beyond ID Works, you probably need to be thinking about more options for things that can be automated, or how you could benefit from a more powerful system.”

“For many, this move could be like going from a simple crescent wrench to a pneumatic impact tool,” he adds.

This is also true for campuses that have gone through remote learning over the past year.

“ID Works uses a USB dongle. If that isn’t plugged in, you’re not printing a card,” says Stallsmith. “If that’s your environment, it may be time to consider what’s new in remote badging and issuance.”

“I don’t think there’s going to be a product ever again that grips the market the way ID Works did at the time in the early 2000s,” adds Stallsmith. “There’s a wider range of options out there today, and I think campus will deploy solutions in a more diversified manner.”

For a solution that’s been as ubiquitous as ID Works, it’s understandable that this could be a stressful or intimidating transition. But the flip side, for ColorID, is the opportunity for campuses to update ID card operations to suit modern card issuance standards.

“This is a big topic that impacts a lot of people,” says Danny Smith, Executive Vice President of ColorID. “We had a hundred registrations in the first 48 hours for this webinar series, spanning IT directors, IT support staff, campus administrators and card office staff.”

“It’s about understanding your options,” adds Smith. “Campuses need to be ready for the solutions that are here today but also the ones that will be coming down the line for years to come.”

Click here to register for one of the webinars.

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