Review: identiMetrics identiFi v1.4.6.8A

For: Easy to deploy, integratable with library checkout, canteen and many other programs

Against: Enrollment process is very sensitive

Verdict: An interesting product that adds strong authentication to places where it is not normally offered

We found some nice features in this product that make it a very useful tool. One feature is that the same server can be used with many applications. Once a person is enrolled, they can use any of the applications used in the environment without having to re-enroll.

Another feature is that when the user is enrolled, the entire fingerprint is not stored, improving privacy protection. The software looks at specific matching points instead.

We found this product fairly easy to use all the way around. Deployment took just a few minutes and we were soon enrolling users. We did find, however, that the software is very fussy when doing an enrollment, and we kept getting error messages that our fingers were too wet or too dry or to move the finger up or down. While this is great for the sake of accuracy, slightly less sensitivity would have been preferred.

Since this product’s purpose is not workstation logon, it does not integrate into Active Directory. Instead it carries its own lightweight database built into the software. Users can be added to the database one by one or imported via a CSV file.

Three pieces of documentation are provided with this product. First is a small quick start guide that provides a brief overview of deployment, installation and enrollment. The other two are an installation guide and a user guide, both in PDF format. These guides are easy to read and provide many screenshots and step-by-step instructions.

identiMetrics offers maintenance at an extra cost (US$24/scan point/year), and onsite training for US$1,000/day plus expenses, or remote training at US$99/hour. There is no support other than email available on the website.

At US$694/scan point annually (including hardware and software), this may appear to be a pricey investment. However, depending on the environment and how the product is used there may not be many scan points, and it removes the need to use swipe cards, which can be expensive as well. We find this product to be a good value for the money.

security