The University of Ottawa Embraces a Sustainable, Cloud-based Future with Saviynt

As the world’s largest bilingual (English-French) public research university, the University of Ottawa is committed to preparing its 48,000 students for an increasingly digital and interconnected world. Through its Transformation 2030 initiative, the university is investing in sustainability, advanced technology, and cloud-based solutions. An important component of this transformation was modernizing its identity governance and administration (IGA) system to improve efficiency, security, and scalability.

The Challenge: Replacing an Outdated and Labor-Intensive System

The university’s identity system relied on multiple fragmented portals, requiring separate accounts for different functions. The legacy system was incompatible with its new single, integrated platform for financial management and human resource management, relied on inefficient manual provisioning, and operated on 49 on-premises servers — posing maintenance challenges, performance risks, and sustainability concerns.

Additionally, the outdated universal card system lacked clear classification, requiring extensive administrative oversight. Employees and students needed separate credentials for different access points, and onboarding new staff involved a lengthy manual approval process that could take up to two weeks.

To modernize its identity infrastructure, the university sought a flexible, cloud-based IGA solution capable of automating lifecycle management, integrating seamlessly with existing source systems, and supporting complex role-based identities.

The Solution: A Modern Approach to Identity Governance

Following a thorough RFP process, the university selected Saviynt’s cloud-native IGA platform for its ability to consolidate identity management, enforce role-based access, and eliminate the need for costly customization.

A pivotal achievement of this transformation was the launch of the universal card system, which unifies physical and digital identity management across campus. Previously, students, faculty, and staff needed multiple credentials for different functions—now, Saviynt enables dynamic, role-based access provisioning, ensuring automatic updates as users change roles or leave the university.

A critical innovation was the integration of Saviynt with campus access controls, the university’s physical security system. Initially, the team considered using CSV files for data transfer but instead leveraged Saviynt’s identity cloud platform for real-time updates, ensuring seamless synchronization between digital identities and physical access controls.

By implementing role-based access control (RBAC), the university automated building access management. Supervisors can now instantly grant access to controlled areas, and changes are reflected across the system within minutes. If an employee or student loses their card, it can be deactivated immediately, preventing unauthorized access, while a replacement card is seamlessly linked to their identity profile.

“Previously, access approvals involved phone calls, emails, or in-person visits,” explains Ronald Monette, Product Manager, IAM Modernization and Governance. “With Saviynt, we’ve eliminated those bottlenecks. Now, identity data flows dynamically, ensuring real-time security updates and a much smoother user experience.”

The Results: A Sustainable, Scalable Future

Saviynt’s flexible and extensible cloud platform eliminated 42 on-premises servers while streamlining identity management for 900,000 identities—including those with multiple roles. By replacing manual provisioning with self-service automation, the university dramatically improved lifecycle management for 48,000 students, 5,000 employees, and third parties like vendors, partners, and alumni.

By adopting Saviynt’s cloud-based identity governance, the University of Ottawa has significantly improved security, efficiency, and user experience. The universal card system showcases how Saviynt’s platform supports university digital transformation initiatives, seamlessly converging digital and physical identities for a secure and frictionless experience.

“This is a major step forward—not just for us, but for universities and organizations facing similar challenges,” Ronald added. “We’ve created a new model for managing identity and access that is dynamic, efficient, and built for the future. This enhances the overall user experience.”

Through its cloud transformation, the University of Ottawa has positioned itself at the forefront of digital identity governance in higher education—enhancing security, improving operational efficiency, and enabling innovation for years to come.