Iocore partners with SACA to provide secure e-commerce solutions

Iocore has entered into an agreement with the South African Certification Agency (SACA) to provide digital authentication services for secure e-commerce applications.

As part of the electronic commerce division of leading information technology group, Persetel Q-Data Holdings, SACA acts as certification authority for digital authentication and the issuance of digitally signed certificates (digital IDs). It also provides an unparalleled level of expertise in Public Key Infrastructure security solutions, with support for certificate and life-cycle management and administration practices.

Esias Botha, delivery manager: Microsoft application development division at Iocore, views the partnership as presenting valuable strategic benefits to both companies as well as to Iocore`s established and potential client base.

"Iocore`s application development division focuses on developing and deploying high-performance distributed applications for both client/server and enterprise Internet environments," he says.

"However, such application-specific IT solutions must be operated in a high-availability, high-security environment in order to allow enterprises to exploit the advantages of the electronic marketplace.

"With its rights to the products and services of VeriSign Incorporated, the world leader in digital authentication, SACA is able to guarantee just such a secure environment which ensures faster times-to-market for the client."

He continues: "Iocore`s clients are thereby not only assured of high quality system development and integration, but also of the most advanced digital authentication products to enable them to conduct secure electronic communications and transactions globally."

According to Botha, Iocore`s application development division is involved with numerous eCommerce solution implementations, especially in the financial services industry.

"Clients such as Investec, which for instance manage and trade unit trusts across the web, need to provide real-time services to their customers and be able to assure them that their information and transactions are kept private and secure.

"The partnership with SACA has enabled Iocore to provide the most flexible digital certificate solution within its end-to-end enterprise application offering, allowing its clients to focus on core business issues while still maintaining total control over web-enabled financial transactions and the integrity of information," he says.

Gerda Venter, SACA`s marketing executive, says authentication of users across the extranet via digital authentication - which provides irrefutable evidence of identity in web-based critical trade - is becoming crucial. "Anyone who wants to transfer confidential information or conduct critical business over the Internet should seriously consider digital certification," she says.

She adds that the demand for SACA`s digital ID certificates has risen significantly in tandem with the global growth in eCommerce, which is illustrated by the fact that SACA has captured 95 percent of the market share in South Africa within its first few years of operation. "The partnership with Iocore has provided SACA with access to a wider market and a diverse group of potential clients. Agreements with information technology services companies such as Iocore enables SACA to provide a complementary service offering - in the form of a robust digital certificate infrastructure - to vertical industries moving towards fully eCommerce-enabled business structures," Venter concludes.