Courion Identity Management and Vocent Voiceprint-Based Authentication Solutions Selected by Cox Communications to Reduce Costs and Boost Security(email this article)

FRAMINGHAM, MA and MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, October 20, 2003 – Courion (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies) Corporation, a leading provider of self-service identity management solutions, and Vocent Solutions, Inc., the leading provider of packaged voice authentication solutions, today announced that Cox Communications, Inc., (NYSE: COX) the fourth largest cable provider in the nation, has selected Courion’s PasswordCourier® and Vocent’s voice authentication server for self-service password management and authentication to reduce costs and increase security.

When Cox discovered that nearly 20 percent of the calls to its IT help desk were to reset passwords for its 22,000 employees, the company decided to implement a technology solution to automate this tedious and costly process.  The initial focus of the implementation is to automate password resets on Microsoft Active Directory and IBM AS/400, as these two platforms represent 90 percent of all password reset requests at Cox.  And, with many of its employees working remotely from over 30 field offices, multiple, intuitive access options are extremely important.

“Demonstration of results was key in evaluating identity management vendors,” said Nick Sourant, director, IT help desk, Cox Communications.  “Courion showed us example after example of proven results with customers similar in size and organizational structure to ours, demonstrating that it could meet our aggressive goal to eliminate ninety percent of our password reset calls through automation.  And with the Vocent voice authentication server, we are able to offer our employees, including our large remote user base, easy access to the solution.”  

To accommodate remote users, Cox will utilize Vocent’s voice authentication server for Courion’s PasswordCourier, the joint offering from the two companies.  This interface provides users with the option of resetting their password through an automated voice recognition system.  Accessible from any telephone, the Vocent application acts as an easy to use interface to PasswordCourier’s enterprise password management capabilities.  Once the Vocent application authenticates the identity of the user, it works with PasswordCourier to manage the password reset function.  Security is increased through the combined use of content verification and voiceprint authentication to verify the user’s claimed identity, and PasswordCourier’s consistent audit trails.  In addition, giving users the ability to change passwords by using their voice greatly increases the user adoption rate, further reducing help desk costs.

“The Vocent voice authentication server combined with the password management capabilities of PasswordCourier provides for a secure and automated solution perfectly suited for a company like Cox with such a large remote user base,” said Frank Skubal, vice president of sales and marketing of Vocent.  “The ubiquity of the telephone creates the ideal access point for users from across the entire enterprise to securely change their passwords.  Because of this, employees can change passwords at their convenience, which significantly reduces demand on enterprise help desk resources.”   
Cox recognized that it would benefit from PasswordCourier and Vocent’s voice authentication server, but it also needed a way to overcome employees’ potential resistance to change.  To ensure users will take advantage of

the solution, Cox plans to utilize Courion’s Self-Service Attainment Program™, which will be customized to Cox’s organization to ensure high user adoption rates and maximize Cox’s investment in the technology.
“User adoption is key with this kind of self-service automation solution,” adds Sourant.  “We view password management as part of a bigger self-service identity management picture.  Courion’s expertise and best practices will help us get employees to embrace self-service, enabling us to obtain additional value out of the PasswordCourier implementation as well as lay the groundwork for a positive cultural shift.  With Courion’s modular, integrated approach to identity management, it provides a clear roadmap by first delivering results through password management, paving the way for user provisioning.”

“Cox is smart to recognize that password management is one element of a complete identity management solution and to take advantage of our phased implementation methodology,” said Deb Pappas, vice president of marketing, Courion.  “By tackling the password management problem first, Cox gets ‘the quick win’ with reduced costs and increased security and a solution that will grow with its identity management needs.”

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, 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.

ABOUT VOCENT
Vocent delivers packaged, speech-driven applications which leverage voice biometrics to securely automate authentication. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., the privately held company applies industry standards to develop platform-independent solutions that combine proven voice technology with unique application-level functionality to maximize caller automation while maintaining comprehensive security. Typically installed in less than 90 days, Vocent’s packaged applications provide increased user convenience, significant cost savings and investment returns within 6 months. For more information about Vocent, visit www.vocent.com or call 650-316-3000.
2003 Courion Corporation. All rights reserved. Courion, PasswordCourier and AccountCourier are trademarks of Courion Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.