Caterpillar Inc. uses a corporate level Directory Access Provider it named CWS that’s home to 100,000+ user accounts. CWS is the central repository for all role and profile information within the organization, and it serves as the sole authentication provider for various applications and environments.
When Caterpillar implemented a SharePoint environment, the company was confronted with a series of challenging SharePoint nuances and protocols that had to be dealt with for CWS to work as the only authentication source.
Caterpillar turned to Infogenic for help. To solve integration issues, Infogenic developed an ISAPI filter as well as a custom-Web service extension for IIS. This filter and extension combination provided the functionality Caterpillar needed to provide authentication via CWS for use in SharePoint. (Users only need to use one password to use both CWS and SharePoint.)
The solution included additional elements, such as suppressing the login box when Microsoft Office was used to open a document from a SharePoint workspace. It also enabled full integration of all Office features seamlessly.
Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company also is a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services, Caterpillar Logistics Service and Progress Rail Services. More information about Caterpillar is available at www.caterpillar.com.