Jim Beard

I'm an identity and access management consultant with over 20 years of experience helping higher education institutions build and maintain secure, scalable IAM systems. Active in internet software development since 2000, I specialize in the InCommon Trusted Access Platform, working extensively with Grouper, midPoint, Shibboleth, and modern authentication protocols.

Currently consulting through Unicon Inc., I focus on Grouper implementations, SSO integrations, and modernizing identity infrastructure. My technical work spans Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Python, and various database systems. I'm AWS Cloud Practitioner certified and recently exploring AI-assisted development, building MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers and RAG-based knowledge systems.

Prior to consulting, I spent over 17 years (2006-2023) as an Enterprise Systems Developer at the University of Oregon, where I managed and expanded the university's identity and access management system, supporting 55,000+ active computing accounts. This work included account provisioning, automatic resource allocation, and integration with email systems, learning management software, web hosting, help desk ticketing systems, Active Directory and more.

Earlier in my career, I served as CTO of Counterclaim.com (2004-2006), where I helped design a case management system and electronic filing portal for the legal industry. During this time, I was involved in open source standards development through OASIS, contributing to Legal XML specifications for court information exchange. This work gave me deep understanding of how the US legal system functions at a technical and administrative level.

Beyond software, I served as an elected City Councilor for 8 years, overseeing public utility works projects and annual city budgets of approximately $2.5 million. This experience reinforced my ability to manage complex projects, work with diverse stakeholders, and balance technical requirements with organizational constraints.

My work centers on making complex identity systems more manageable and helping teams adopt modern approaches to access control and governance.