System Updates

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Time Date	System Updates
Update 1520 2 October 2026	HOPS Identity Platform (IdP) We're introducing a HOPS Identity Platform to provide a central authentication service for HOPS and its connected applications. Applications such as Time Register, Point of Sale, Raildays and Online Public Sales have previously needed to handle elements of authentication themselves. The Identity Platform brings this together through a central HOPS service, making authentication more consistent for users and easier to develop across the HOPS platform. The first applications to move across will be Online Public Sales websites, followed by other HOPS applications. OAUTH 2.0 AND OPENID CONNECT The Identity Platform uses OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect (OIDC), widely adopted industry standards for authorisation and authentication used by services including Microsoft and Google. HOPS itself will act as the Identity Provider (IdP). This does not mean that users will be able to sign in to HOPS using an external account such as Microsoft, Google or Facebook. A HOPS account belongs to the individual and may provide access to several different organisations. Keeping authentication within HOPS means that access to those organisations does not depend on the security or administration of an external account. More information about the standards is available from Microsoft: OAuth 2.0 https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/business/security-101/what-is-oauth OpenID Connect (OIDC) https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/business/security-101/what-is-openid-connect-oidc WHY ARE WE MAKING THIS CHANGE? HOPS is increasingly a platform of connected applications rather than a single system. A central identity service means authentication and security improvements can increasingly be implemented once across the HOPS platform, rather than separately for each application. For example, when we introduced multi-factor authentication (MFA) in 2025, individual applications needed to be modified to support it. The Identity Platform provides a better foundation for improvements of this kind in future. WHAT WILL USERS NOTICE? For most users, very little will change. Your existing HOPS username, password and, where applicable, TOTP verification code will continue to work, and you won't need to create a new account or change your login details. There is also no change to how organisations manage users or their access within HOPS. As applications move across, you'll increasingly see the same HOPS login process when accessing different HOPS services. WHAT DOES THIS ENABLE? The Identity Platform gives us a foundation for further improvements, including support for passkeys. It also creates the opportunity for HOPS to provide authentication for compatible systems outside HOPS. An organisation could, for example, allow its users to access an intranet, CCTV system, WiFi captive portal or another application using their HOPS account. Where supported, Single Sign-On (SSO) could allow someone already signed in to HOPS to access another authorised service without signing in again. In other words, a HOPS account could eventually be useful for more than accessing HOPS itself. If your organisation has a system that could benefit from authentication using HOPS, we'd be interested to hear from you. Please discuss it with the person responsible for IT within your organisation and then contact us through the HOPS Helpdesk. The Identity Platform is an important investment in the underlying HOPS platform, making authentication more consistent today while creating new opportunities for security, integration and connected services in future.

Time Date

System Updates

Update 1520
2 October 2026

HOPS Identity Platform (IdP)

We're introducing a HOPS Identity Platform to provide a central authentication service for HOPS and its connected applications. Applications such as Time Register, Point of Sale, Raildays and Online Public Sales have previously needed to handle elements of authentication themselves. The Identity Platform brings this together through a central HOPS service, making authentication more consistent for users and easier to develop across the HOPS platform. The first applications to move across will be Online Public Sales websites, followed by other HOPS applications.

OAUTH 2.0 AND OPENID CONNECT

The Identity Platform uses OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect (OIDC), widely adopted industry standards for authorisation and authentication used by services including Microsoft and Google. HOPS itself will act as the Identity Provider (IdP). This does not mean that users will be able to sign in to HOPS using an external account such as Microsoft, Google or Facebook.

A HOPS account belongs to the individual and may provide access to several different organisations. Keeping authentication within HOPS means that access to those organisations does not depend on the security or administration of an external account.

More information about the standards is available from Microsoft:

OAuth 2.0
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/business/security-101/what-is-oauth

OpenID Connect (OIDC)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/business/security-101/what-is-openid-connect-oidc

WHY ARE WE MAKING THIS CHANGE?

HOPS is increasingly a platform of connected applications rather than a single system. A central identity service means authentication and security improvements can increasingly be implemented once across the HOPS platform, rather than separately for each application. For example, when we introduced multi-factor authentication (MFA) in 2025, individual applications needed to be modified to support it. The Identity Platform provides a better foundation for improvements of this kind in future.

WHAT WILL USERS NOTICE?

For most users, very little will change. Your existing HOPS username, password and, where applicable, TOTP verification code will continue to work, and you won't need to create a new account or change your login details. There is also no change to how organisations manage users or their access within HOPS. As applications move across, you'll increasingly see the same HOPS login process when accessing different HOPS services.

WHAT DOES THIS ENABLE?

The Identity Platform gives us a foundation for further improvements, including support for passkeys. It also creates the opportunity for HOPS to provide authentication for compatible systems outside HOPS.

An organisation could, for example, allow its users to access an intranet, CCTV system, WiFi captive portal or another application using their HOPS account. Where supported, Single Sign-On (SSO) could allow someone already signed in to HOPS to access another authorised service without signing in again. In other words, a HOPS account could eventually be useful for more than accessing HOPS itself.

If your organisation has a system that could benefit from authentication using HOPS, we'd be interested to hear from you. Please discuss it with the person responsible for IT within your organisation and then contact us through the HOPS Helpdesk.

The Identity Platform is an important investment in the underlying HOPS platform, making authentication more consistent today while creating new opportunities for security, integration and connected services in future.

Generated at 16:11:58 13/10/2026