OpenAthens
OpenAthens provides single sign-on and identity federation software for academic, healthcare, and corporate research institutions, serving 3,200+ libraries and publishers across 80+ countries as part of UK charity Jisc.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersBristol, United Kingdom
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
OpenAthens firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OpenAthens
- Legal name
- OpenAthens
- Website
- https://openathens.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- OpenAthens provides single sign-on and identity federation software for academic, healthcare, and corporate research institutions, serving 3,200+ libraries and publishers across 80+ countries as part of UK charity Jisc.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OpenAthens industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Identity and Access Management
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Single Sign-On (SSO) & Federation (SAML/OIDC, Identity Providers) (HDAEAJAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms (BPAMAEAE)
Keywords
Where OpenAthens is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bristol
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
OpenAthens business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription-based SaaS: OpenAthens generates revenue through subscription-based pricing for their authentication products (Compass, Connect, Keystone, Federation). The products serve different market segments from enterprise to smaller organizations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
OpenAthens product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OpenAthens develops and sells identity and access management software that provides single sign-on (SSO) and federated authentication to academic, healthcare, and corporate research institutions. Its product portfolio includes OpenAthens Compass (premium SSO for complex organizations), OpenAthens Connect (affordable SSO for smaller organizations), OpenAthens Keystone (SAML federation authentication for publishers), and OpenAthens Federation (a global identity network with 3,000+ members).
Product overview
OpenAthens is an authentication and single sign-on (SSO) platform with a portfolio of four distinct products serving two customer segments. For libraries, it offers OpenAthens Compass (premium, personalized SSO for complex organizations) alongside OpenAthens Connect (simple, affordable SSO for smaller organizations). For publishers and service providers, it provides OpenAthens Keystone (SAML-based authentication for federations) and OpenAthens Federation (a global identity network). Together, these products enable seamless, secure remote access to digital resources across academic, healthcare, and corporate research institutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- OpenAthens Compass: A premium, personalized single sign-on solution designed for complex organizations, built for librarians.
- OpenAthens Connect
- OpenAthens Keystone
- OpenAthens Federation
Products and services
- OpenAthens Compass A premium, personalized single sign-on (SSO) solution designed for complex organizations and built for librarians. It provides secure, reliable remote access to digital library resources and removes authentication friction for end users.
- OpenAthens Connect A simple, affordable single sign-on (SSO) solution that removes barriers to knowledge for smaller libraries and organizations. Targets the SMB/SME segment of the library market with a cost-efficient authentication offering.
- OpenAthens Keystone A secure authentication solution that enables publishers and service providers to participate in SAML federations around the world. Provides federated identity integration for content platforms.
- OpenAthens Federation A global identity federation network with over 3,000 members from diverse industries that simplifies login experiences through federated identity access. Provides participating organizations with broad interoperability and pre-integrated access.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5 billion+ resource transfers processed
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use OpenAthens
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
OpenAthens technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
OpenAthens partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- JisccoreOpenAthens is part of Jisc, a UK-based charity. Jisc charity number in England & Wales 1149740; charity number in Scotland SC053607. Company No. 05747339. Jisc provides the organizational backing and mission for OpenAthens.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
OpenAthens competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD): Microsoft's cloud identity platform that bundles SSO and federation into Microsoft 365 and Azure; a broad incumbent already used by many of OpenAthens' academic customers and a long-term competitive threat for non-Microsoft library SSO.
- Ping Identity: Enterprise identity platform specializing in SSO, federation, and API security with deep SAML and OIDC support; a long-standing direct competitor in the federation market for publishers and large organizations.
- OneLogin: Cloud-based identity and SSO provider serving enterprises and SaaS apps; comparable to OpenAthens for publisher-side SSO and federation, though focused more broadly outside the academic niche.
- Auth0 (Okta): Developer-focused authentication and SSO platform now part of Okta; competes for publisher and service-provider SSO integrations that might otherwise flow through OpenAthens Keystone or Federation.
- Google Cloud Identity / Workspace: Google's identity and SSO offering for Workspace and cloud customers; competes with OpenAthens in higher education where Google Workspace is entrenched and could absorb library SSO through institutional standardization.
- Okta: Cloud-native identity and access management platform offering SSO, federation, MFA and lifecycle management at enterprise scale; competes with OpenAthens for larger library and publisher deployments as a broad incumbent in the SSO space.
Emerging players
- OCLC: Library cooperative that powers WorldCat and offers identity/authentication-adjacent services (including EZproxy) used by the same academic and public libraries OpenAthens targets; partial overlap in the library authentication workflow.
Direct peers
- InCommon (Internet2): US-based identity federation operated by Internet2 that delivers federated SSO for US higher education and research — a direct counterpart to OpenAthens' Federation service and often deployed alongside or instead of OpenAthens.
- eduGAIN (GÉANT): Interfederation service that connects national research and education identity federations globally (including InCommon); directly comparable to OpenAthens' global federation network on the academic/research side.
- Shibboleth (Shibboleth Consortium / Internet2): Open-source SAML federation software widely used in higher education and research to provide single sign-on across institutions; the closest technical and customer-overlap peer to OpenAthens in the academic identity federation niche.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OpenAthens social profiles
Digital presenceOpenAthens financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OpenAthens leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
OpenAthens funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OpenAthens M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OpenAthens
What does OpenAthens do?
OpenAthens develops and sells identity and access management software that provides single sign-on (SSO) and federated authentication to academic, healthcare, and corporate research institutions. Its product portfolio includes OpenAthens Compass (premium SSO for complex organizations), OpenAthens Connect (affordable SSO for smaller organizations), OpenAthens Keystone (SAML federation authentication for publishers), and OpenAthens Federation (a global identity network with 3,000+ members).
Is OpenAthens a public or private company?
OpenAthens is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was OpenAthens founded?
OpenAthens was founded in 1995.
Where is OpenAthens based?
OpenAthens is headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does OpenAthens make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription-based SaaS.
Who are OpenAthens's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), Ping Identity, OneLogin, Auth0 (Okta), Google Cloud Identity / Workspace and Okta. OCLC is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are InCommon (Internet2), eduGAIN (GÉANT) and Shibboleth (Shibboleth Consortium / Internet2).
Does OpenAthens have an API?
No public API is recorded for OpenAthens.
What industry is OpenAthens in?
OpenAthens's product category is Identity and Access Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAJAB, Single Sign-On (SSO) & Federation (SAML/OIDC, Identity Providers), with a secondary code of BPAMAEAE, Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.