History of the Consortium
Less than 20 years after the release of Shibboleth’s hugely successful identity provider, the Consortium now has over 50 members from 17 different countries. Learn more about our journey here.
The Shibboleth Project evolves out of an Internet2 Middleware initiative. Later in the year, the project connects with the work of the OASIS SAML Working Group.
Shibboleth 1.0 is born!
Following the first release of its now world-renowned identity provider software, Shibboleth is quickly adopted by research and education communities across the globe.
Usage of Shibboleth products grows with NRENs, Academic institutions and commercial organisations implementing the software.
The Shibboleth Consortium is founded!
Jisc, Internet2 and SWITCH become the first Principal Members by establishing the Consortium as a formal means of financially supporting the Shibboleth project.
A substantial financial reserve has been built up but primarily by the Principal Members as other membership fees remain substantially lower. Over the next 12 months, the project’s finances start to be depleted.
It becomes clear that action must be taken to avoid incurring a deficit. The Consortium reduces project expenditure by cutting developer hours. This leaves little opportunity for further development of the software and the development team’s main focus becomes maintenance and support.
The Consortium takes the following steps to avoid a deficit:
- Consortium membership fees are increased for the first time
- The support model is updated to recognise the value of core developer support by making it a benefit exclusive to Consortium members
- The Consortium attends several international events and hosts webinars to increase membership
These steps are welcomed by existing members and membership grows from 21 to 40 in one year.
The Consortium reaches 50 members!
With a growing membership, the Consortium Board now includes representation of five NRENs, two member-representatives and a development team representative.
After a successful year of growth, the Consortium invests in further development and Phil Smart of Jisc joins the Shibboleth development team.
Investment in development continues as developer Henri Mikkonen joins the team
The Consortium remains in a strong financial position and further expands the development team with John O’Brien joining, bringing the team up to 9 skilled and dedicated members.
