About usernames
A username is an access credential that is comprised of a valid email address from one of the supported identity providers. A username can be registered to multiple SmartOffice™ accounts (multi-account username), and must be activated by the user only once before logging on to any of the accounts that the username is registered to.
Benefits of the multi-account username
A multi-account username is the use of an active username in more than one SmartOffice™ account, and for either similar or different user levels. Because you are not limited in the number of accounts that a username is registered to, usernames allow you to be versatile in how you configure your accounts.
- Add the same user to multiple SmartOffice™ accounts. As a result, for that user, each of those accounts becomes a site that is easily accessible from the SmartOffice™ home page. Upon logging on to SmartOffice™ (from the web client or the SmartOffice™ mobile apps), the user automatically accesses the last account that they were logged on to before logging off. Furthermore, if a username is registered to multiple accounts, you can delete them from one account without affecting the other accounts.
- Create multiple sites for a single integrator account and have
each site managed by the same administrator username. As shown in the single account
illustration, two integrator administrators (each with their own unique usernames) are
required to manage the production and demo account types for the same integrator
account; whereas, in the multi-account illustration, the same integrator administrator
username can be used to manage both account types.
- Create multiple sites for a single client account and have each
site managed by the same administrator username.
For example, let's assume that your client has multiple stores, each with its own set of users and assigned video units. With a multi-account username, you can create an account for each of those stores (thereby creating multiple sites), and assign the same client administrator username to manage each of those sites.
As shown in the following image, creating dedicated client accounts for the sites in Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa makes finding video units and client users easier because they are organized based on the location of the site.
- Distribute the video units and NAS volumes at the site level instead of the client account level. As a result, when users access a site, they only see the devices specific to that site. Also, because each site is its own client account, they can each have their own account subscription term and renewal term.
- Assign the same username to different user levels. For example, with a single username, a user can be an integrator user for one SmartOffice™ account and a client administrator for another account. and access these sites individually.
How do account activation emails work for multi-account usernames?
A user only receives an activation email once their username is assigned to an account for the first time. If the username gets assigned to another account subsequently, the user only receives an email confirming their registration to this new site, and activation is not required. Once a username is active, assigning that username to another account automatically forces the system to use the first and last names that were entered when first registering the username. As a result, although you must enter a name whenever creating or modifying users, the user's name is not overwritten, regardless of what you enter in the First name and Last name fields.
Watch this video to learn more. Click the Captions icon (CC) to turn on video captions in one of the available languages.