FAQ

• Who is JSA Technologies?

  Serving the campus card industry since 1998, JSA Technologies innovated on-line account management. JSA’s systems have processed over $2 billion in financially sensitive transactions without incident. Over 100 of the nation’s leading universities and colleges and almost 1.4 million students currently use JSA under the StudentLink and MilkMoney product names. JSA Technologies is a privately held company.

• What do you know about card systems?

  Atrium is powered by JSA Technologies, a renowned provider of card system services since 1998. Aspects of Atrium are currently in use by over 1.4 million students under the StudentLink and MilkMoney product names.

• Where can I see Atrium?

  Various aspects of Atrium technology are currently in use at over 100 of the nation’s leading universities and colleges under the StudentLink and MilkMoney product names. While we are in discussions with a number of institutions and expect to have full live systems by December of 2012, everything about Atrium is an extension of proven card systems. We are just making them better.

• When will it be ready?

  Over 100 colleges and universities are currently using various aspects of Atrium across the nation under our StudentLink and MilkMoney product names. Additionally, we are powered by JSA Technologies, a trusted name in campus systems with over $2 billion in incident-free transactions since 1998. We are currently in active discussions with several institutions and expect to have our first full live systems in place by December of 2012.

• Can I still use my StudentLink?

  Atrium is powered by JSA Technologies. Clients upgrading to the Atrium campus management solution will use StudentLink through the Deposits module.

• How much does it cost?

  Our renewable, 5-year, Fixed Price Guarantee is coupled with a fair and transparent pricing model to significantly reduce your cost of ownership. Any changes in your payment would only reflect your growth at the end of that 5-year period. Atrium is also modular and scalable, so you only pay for the features and infrastructure that you want and need. Atrium pricing is relative to the system that you choose to build. We would be happy to schedule a time to discuss our value in more detail.

• Are you able to send me a quote?

  Do you have an active project for a new system? Are you actively seeking solutions to your current problems? If you can give us some specifics on the scope of your requirements a member of our team can give you an idea of the savings that you can expect with Atrium. Please contact us for more information.

• When can you visit my campus?

  Your time is valuable, and we don’t want to waste it. Our customers have found it helpful to have a web meeting or teleconference to outline the scope of a project prior to a physical visit. The institutions that we’ve visited have appreciated our cut-to-the-chase when we arrive on their campus. Contact us with some basics and we will get the ball rolling. Please contact us for more information.

• How can I get more information on Atrium?

  Some information is here on our site. Every campus is different, and Atrium is modular and scalable to fit their different needs. If you have some specifics about the scope of your requirements a member of our team can provide you with more details about how we can help you.

• Can you help me with an RFP?

  Our staff and Advisory Board are made up of current and former card administrators and industry leaders. We have years of experience that makes us highly qualified to assist you with a comprehensive RFP. Please contact us for more information.

• What if not everyone on our campus uses the card system?

  We anticipated that. Our customers asked for a simple, transparent pricing model. The price-per-student charges already factor the average percentage of your community likely to not be using the card system.

• How can you guarantee a price for 5 years?

  Technology evolves, and as it does, prices go down. Just look at smartphones and tablets. We reduce the total cost of ownership through the innovative use of modern technology. Being a secure, hosted, cloud-based solution eliminates your need for costly, proprietary, on-campus infrastructure. AtriumCare is complimentary, and gets rid of expensive maintenance fees. Being a modular, scalable system allows us to only charge for what you need and use.

• Will my price automatically go up at the end of my contract?

  The only things that will trigger price increases are a growth of your student enrollment by the end of your 5-year Fixed Price Guarantee period or adding more functionality to your existing Atrium system.

• Do I have to pay for software updates?

  No. AtriumCare includes complimentary updates.

• Can you handle a large, multi-campus facility?

  Yes! Atrium is designed using the latest technology and is an extension of proven systems already in place. When we test a new system, we simulate a large, multi-campus facility during the peak hours of 10 a.m.—2 p.m. If you give us some specifics (i.e. # of transactions, # of connections, etc.) we can show you a comparable demonstration.

• Can Atrium do the same things as my current system?

  We provide the functionality of traditional systems…re-imagined for the future. Atrium is an extension of proven card system technologies. The heart of Atrium features comprehensive People Management, Debit Accounts, and unlimited Connections. Optional Modules increase the functionality of your Atrium with Meals, Deposits, Off-Campus, and Marketplace. From Card Production to Access, POS to Parking, Library to Laundry: Tell us about your current system and we can customize an Atrium package for you.

• What if I have proprietary hardware?

  We are also constantly adding new and better card readers, POS systems, and other hardware and software. We have a very robust list of supported systems. Any system not on our current list can most likely be connected to Atrium, provided that it supports standard web connectivity. Given the modern design of our system, it is likely that we can build a connection quickly and inexpensively to your current hardware. Some systems may need to be replaced depending on factors like age.

  We’d be happy to meet with you to discuss the specifics of your system.

• I like some of my current systems. Can I keep them?

  We are constantly adding new and better card readers, POS systems, and other hardware and software. We have a very robust list of supported systems. Any system not on our current list can most likely be connected to Atrium, provided that it supports standard web connectivity. We don’t like locking people into proprietary systems. Pick whichever is best for you.

• Can you adjust Atrium for my style of campus?

  Atrium is modular and scalable, making it easily customizable for institutions of any size.

• Where can I see a list of your supported systems?

  Our list of supported systems continues to expand. We are constantly testing the latest products from trusted providers. Given the modern design of our system, it is likely that we can build a connection quickly and inexpensively to providers not currently on the list. We’d be happy to meet with you to provide a more up-to-date listing that will meet your needs.

• Do I need an IT degree to make a connection work?

  Of course not. Just choose the appropriate system and Atrium connection. Our one-time-per-connection charge covers the rest and complimentary AtriumCare will take care of any updates.

• What is your reader response time?

  Atrium has a sub-second transactional response time through any system supporting standard web connectivity. Users will experience an immediate response anywhere, anyplace, anytime.

• What bandwidth is required for Atrium?

  Atrium requires a very modest amount of bandwidth.
  One transaction typically consists of 350 bytes; 200 bytes send and 150 bytes receive. That’s roughly the equivalent of two Twitter tweets.
  A very large campus with 50,000 students typically sees 4 transactions per second during the 10AM – 2PM peak time. Smaller campuses generate proportionately fewer transactions.

• How often will Atrium be down for updates or service?

  AtriumCare includes a guaranteed 100% availability, and we offer push-notification of software updates. Any updates are scheduled by you, so choose a day and time that will least impact your campus. Our experience has proven that we should push no more than 2 updates per month, and our average install time is 2 to 4 minutes.

• How can you guarantee a 100% uptime?

  Atrium is a secure, hosted, cloud solution using the latest redundant, distributed infrastructure similar to other world-class applications like Google Mail. It has been designed with multiple switches, firewalls, databases, and web and application servers, eliminating any single point of failure. We host with one of the largest providers in the country, eliminating the need for costly, proprietary on-campus infrastructure and expensive maintenance fees.

• If my Dashboard is browser-based, can’t anyone log on?

  No. Admins logging into their Atrium Dashboard are required to have a username, password, and authentication code on their device (similar to an RSA key). The communication between the admin and their Atrium database goes well beyond multi-factor authentication.

• How secure is Atrium?

  Security was an overriding design objective for Atrium. The data transferred in a typical campus card system is highly sensitive, containing financial, routing, and personal information. Institutions are understandably concerned about storing this information off-campus. This is why we’ve used the latest, multi-level approach to security.

  Atrium is powered by JSA Technologies, a trusted name in campus card transactions since 1998. We have securely processed over $2 billion in financially-sensitive transactions without incident. We have Level 1 PCI DSS compliance and are subject to regular network security and SAS70 audits. Atrium uses a security-heavy framework and SSL encryption to protect against injection attacks for all incoming and outgoing data. We use multiple, redundant firewalls and Juniper security to protect against DDOS attacks. Each Atrium database is encrypted and wrapped in a model platform secured by a multi-threaded OpenSSL API.

  You always have the option of maintaining sensitive cardholder data on campus.

• Can I host Atrium on my campus?

  You can choose to host all or part of your Atrium system on your campus.  As an option, institutions can elect to only host sensitive cardholder data while hosting the rest of the system in the Atrium cloud. In order to reap the full benefits of Atrium we recommend hosting the entire system in our Atrium cloud.

• What happens to the transactional history of my current system?

  It will always be there for you! There are two options:
  • We can archive your existing transactional history on the Atrium cloud and provide access to you through traditional RDBMS GUI tools.
  • We can map your existing transactional history into your new Atrium system, enabling you to use your Atrium Dashboard to access historical information from your existing card system.

• What if you lose my data?

  Every aspect of your system is backed up continuously to multiple, redundant databases. All of our databases and servers are backed up daily. The last two weeks of back-ups are held on site, and historic data is moved off-site by Iron Mountain. We can always provide secure, on-line access to all transaction history.

• What is the future of the campus card industry?

  We are constantly testing the latest products from trusted providers. While some card systems are resistant to change, we embrace new technologies. We see mobile as the emerging trend in campus management. More students will have connectivity to more systems through smartphones and tablets, with easier access to goods and services both on and off campus. Administrators will have access to information from desktops and mobile devices, allowing admin anywhere, anyplace, anytime.

  We’ve anticipated this and built many of these conveniences into our system providing Atrium: the functionality of traditional systems…re-imagined.