DARDEN RESTAURANTS TO AUTOMATE IDENTITY MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS WITH COURION SOLUTION SUITE (email this article)

(Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies) FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - January 6, 2003 -Courion® Corporation, a leading provider of self-service identity management solutions, today announced that Darden Restaurants, owner of the popular Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones restaurants, has selected AccountCourier® and PasswordCourier® for automating user provisioning and password management.
 
The Courion Identity Management Suite™ will enable Darden Restaurants’ corporate employees to manage their own account information and passwords. The company’s research revealed that nearly 100 percent of the password reset calls to the help desk each month could be eliminated through self-service password management. The company also identified a need to streamline the account disable process to allow business managers to disable user accounts immediately when an employee leaves the company, eliminating the potential for any security loopholes.
 
“We use very complex passwords to maintain a high level of security. The problem is that this breeds frequent password reset requests because they are harder to remember,” said John O'Dell, manager, data security, Darden Restaurants. “Fortunately, we have a user base that is accustomed to self-service applications.”
 
The Courion Identity Management Suite is designed to provide a smooth transition to self-service account management and password reset with multiple access options, intuitive user interface and seamless integration with the most commonly used applications and platforms. Darden selected the Web and DIRECT! access methods and will utilize Courion’s Self-Service Attainment (SSA) program customized for their unique corporate policies and culture. Through the SSA program, Courion will help Darden market the system to the corporate users in order to boost adoption rates and drive maximum value from the technology investment.
 
“Even with users who are already comfortable with self-service applications, we’ve found that a comprehensive effort to market the solution to the targeted user base always has a positive effect on the adoption rate,” said Deb Pappas, vice president of marketing, Courion. “Our Identity Management Suite and SSA programs are designed to address the needs of a variety of end users involved in managing digital identities and helps our customers look at the bigger picture to create a smooth migration path to self-service identity management.”
 
About Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants, Inc. is the largest casual dining restaurant company in the world. It operates more than 1,200 Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones restaurants in North America, leading each of its market segments and employing more than 140,000 people.
 
About Courion
Courion Corporation is a leading provider of self-service identity management solutions that help enterprises manage the access rights and credentials of employees, business partners and customers with more speed, more security and less cost. Courion's Identity Management Suite, anchored by its AccountCourier user provisioning and PasswordCourier password management product lines, securely automates the resolution of common operational challenges such as user account setup and deletion and password reset and synchronization. Courion's non-invasive, self-service architecture enforces security policies, while providing measurable cost-savings, operational efficiencies and productivity improvements. Courion's customers include industry leaders such as American Electric Power, The Boeing Company, Children's Hospital Boston, Fannie Mae, GE, Office Depot and SunTrust Banks, government institutions such as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Census Bureau, and large not-for-profit organizations such as Kaiser Permanente. Courion is funded by QuestMark Partners, JMI Equity and other private investors. For more information, contact Courion's headquarters in Framingham, MA, USA at +1 508-879-8400 or visit www.courion.com. www.courion.com.
 
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2004 Courion Corporation. All rights reserved. Courion, PasswordCourier and AccountCourier are registered trademarks of Courion Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.