Changing your email address in the Shared Investigator Platform (SIP) isn't as simple as you might think — the setting isn't in SIP at all. Here is the procedure we confirmed with the SIP Help Desk.
SIP is a cloud-based platform operated by Cognizant that several pharmaceutical sponsors use to provide investigators and research sites access to study documents, task lists, investigator and site profiles, site training records, and feasibility documentation. HMRG is an active investigative site, and we log into SIP regularly as part of our routine across all seven of our therapeutic areas. Every user's SIP account is federated through the Exostar secure access portal, and that brings us to the trap: changing your email address within SIP is not possible, because that setting is housed in a separate portal. HMRG recently contacted the SIP Help Desk to determine the correct procedure and confirmed it first-hand.
Put simply, because Exostar is handling identity and login, account-level changes such as changing an email address have to be handled there. Yet when site staff need to change the email address on their SIP account, they look inside the SIP application itself to find the setting and don't get far in their search. The indirect route to a straightforward change is the source of confusion for many users, and it's why HMRG sought confirmation.
The email setting isn't in SIP at all — it lives in the Exostar secure access portal.
The verified procedure
- Go to secureaccess.exostar.com.
- In the User Login section, enter your User ID or Email ID, and click Continue.
- Enter your password, and then click LOGIN.
- Once you're logged in, in the box at the top of the screen, click MY ACCOUNT, and then click CHANGE EMAIL.
- In the Change Email pop-up window, enter your new email address, and then click Continue.
- In the next window, enter the activation code sent to your new email address, and then click Activate.
Practical tip: make sure you're ready to receive mail at your new address before you begin — the activation code is sent there — and remember that any sponsors connected to your SIP profile will see the updated address.
If you get stuck
The SIP Help Desk is available both by email (SIPhelp@Cognizant.com) and by phone. English-language support runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, with French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese support available during regional business hours. Once you're logged in to SIP, a Support link at the top of the screen shows your ticket history, and the question-mark icon opens SIP's training materials — WebHelp, job aids, demo videos, and FAQs.
The procedure is straightforward once you know where to find it, and it can save site staff real time when communication details need to change. HMRG is glad to share our experience and hopes it helps other clinical research sites avoid the same confusion.