Solution and Implementation
Illumia + Genea: A Shared Vision
“We were looking for a partner with exceptional solutions that operated at scale…Genea really met that mark.”
Rasheed Behrooznia EVP & GM, Campus ID & Commerce at Illumia
What Genea brings to the partnership
Cloud-Native Platform Not a legacy retrofit. Built for the cloud with continuous updates with zero planned downtime.
Open Hardware Philosophy No proprietary lock-in. Mercury-compatible readers work with 20+ software providers.
Modern User Experience Intuitive admin UI. Dedicated project manager assigned to every implementation.
24/7/365 Live Support AI chat resolves most tickets. Live agents still available for escalation.
Deep Illumia Integration Works natively with Illumia TSE, IDX, and access control integration.
Rapid Innovation ~80 new features last year vs. one every 12–18 months on legacy platforms.
“We're big believers in open hardware. Our customer retention is driven by our service and our value, not because we sold you something proprietary.”
Michael Wong President & CEO at Genea
IMPLEMENTATION
A Seamless, Multi-Year Rollout
1
Phased Funding
Spread across three fiscal years (July–June). Saved funds plus creative budget planning kept implementation manageable.
2
Hardware Reuse
Mercury-compatible readers and existing wiring carried forward; no rip-and-replace cost.
3
Dedicated PM
Genea assigned a project manager for every implementation’s full migration.
4
Zero Disruption
Students, faculty, and staff experienced no change to daily credential workflows.
5
AI Support Adopted Fast
Mercer University leveraged Genea's AI chat for fast self-service issue resolution.
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It just works. It just keeps working.
Ken Boyer Associate Vice President Auxiliary Services at Mercer University
TRANSFORMATIONAL OUTCOMES
What Mercer University Gained
Always-On Reliability
Cloud eliminated downtime, and updates deploy without disruption.
Infrastructure Savings
Cloud eliminated downtime, and updates deploy without disruption.
Modern Admin Tools
Intuitive UI and AI support unlocked new capabilities.
Rapid Feature Innovation
~80 features shipped in one year; impossible on traditional on-prem platforms.
Scalable Model for Higher Ed
Established a repeatable blueprint other institutions can follow.
Collaborative Product Dev
Feedback shaped the roadmap, with Genea committing to delivery timelines.
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