A Self-Service Portal for Managing Authentication Procedures

In order to create a central contact point for authentication procedures of its employees, the German research institute decided to implement a new self-service portal based on Laravel and Kubernetes. byte5 as Laravel Diamond partner was able to persuade with its unique technical expertise in the German-speaking region and won the tender.

The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (MPG) is one of Germany's most successful research institutions. Founded in 1948, the Society consists of 86 Max Planck Institutes and facilities that conduct basic research in the natural sciences, biological sciences, humanities and social sciences in the service of the general public. The non-profit Max Planck Society, based in Berlin and Munich, is internationally renowned - not least because it publishes tens of thousands of specialist publications and 20 Nobel Prize winners are members of the MPG.

To find the right partner for implementing a self-service portal for its employees based on Laravel and Kubernetes, the Max Planck Society undertook a public tender. byte5 submitted a comprehensive technical proposal too and convinced with its expertise as Laravel Diamond partner.

In this mission-critical web project, byte5's development team ensures high-performance and high-availability. Further focus topics are the creation of a qualified electronic signature as well as the management of authentication options in the new portal, which should significantly improve both security and support efforts within the organization.

The highly heterogeneous IT infrastructure within the MPG and its institutes poses a particular challenge. Currently, many different authentication procedures are in use, which are managed decentrally and with great effort.

The portal will create a central point of contact for MPG members in which they can independently manage various procedures.

In the medium term, the portal will also be expandable to include other authentication procedures and MPG services and can be integrated into other applications. The high usability of the portal and its strong user-centeredness are aimed at achieving a high level of employee acceptance of the application.

After the start of the project in April 2021, the basic infrastructure was completed in cooperation with the MPG's IT service provider using Docker containers and the development environment was set up. In addition, it was possible to start developing an initial form of authentication. By the end of 2021, the conception of further forms of authentication and the next steps in the project planning are planned. byte5 will fully support the MPG in the conception, implementation and operation of the portal in the next few years.