More and more digital research data are being produced and made available by institutional repositories, data centres and other providers worldwide. Research has become increasingly data intensive, interdisciplinary and international: researchers use data and associated tools and services with unprecedented frequency, and collaborate with colleagues from institutions across Europe and worldwide.

In the light of these developments, organisations face the challenge of efficiently controlling user access to data and resources. For these reasons, adequate systems for reliable user identification and subsequent authorisation to use data and services must be established. In order to encourage researchers to use these systems, state-of-the-art features such as Identity Management and Single Sign-on are required. Systems for implementing these features are currently being set up by many research infrastructures and federations. They are commonly referred to as AAI – Authentication and Authorisation Infrastructures