Districts and education agencies that rely on the Microsoft Live@edu free suite of hosted Microsoft applications can now expand the set of services they offer their students and staff, through the new CloudConnect™ product from Pearson Data Solutions (formerly Edustructures).
CloudConnect uses Microsoft Active Directory and SIFWorks® Directory Manager to exchange student and staff records with the Live@edu application and provides automated provisioning of Live@edu accounts using the existing student information system. As students and staff move in and out of a district or transfer between schools, CloudConnect automatically provisions or deprovisions their Live@edu account, simplifying administrative updates and maintenance needs. It also provides automated support for Acceptable Use Policy.
“CloudConnect allows school districts an easier, more efficient way to implement and manage Live@edu accounts, saving time and resources that can be dedicated toward additional classroom instruction and other important educational activities,” said Steve Curtis, president, Pearson Data Solutions.
CloudConnect offers synchronized sign-on for Live@edu accounts (based on Active Directory usernames and passwords), which means users can access their Live@edu account with the same username and password employed at the school.
CloudConnect is built on the SIF Certified SIFWorks® Directory Manager product and supports multiple versions of SIF for use in mixed environments. A single CloudConnect application can scale to support individual schools, entire districts or statewide implementations.
