You’ve probably heard the phrase “practice creates perfect” many times, but in the absence of anything to improve, practice becomes monotonous and boring as time passes.
Multi-login logins may feel the same.
Your employees aren’t going to enjoy it when they must keep track of the endless (and often difficult) logins, passwords, and user names in order to access all of the applications and services or modules within the productivity software you use.
Imagine if the IT department did not have to spend valuable resources and effort managing user accounts? What if you could focus on business operations instead of combating “password exhaustion”? There’s a way to accomplish both.
Enter Single Sign-On (SSO).
Single Sign-On: Single Login, Multiple Accounts
How can I use Single Sign-On?
SSO, also known as one-sign-on is an advanced access control system that lets users log into the system using a single set of passwords to many distinct but related devices or touchpoints. On any device, it doesn’t regardless of the location they are.
An SSO service operates using an authenticating token.
If, for instance, you login to a company resource and then the SSO creates an account token that keeps track of you being authenticated.
Any website you try to access following that will verify by using the single sign-on. The SSO sends your authentication code to the service and you’re then allowed access. If, in any way you’re not yet verified you’ll be asked to verify yourself using the single sign-on system.
It happens so quickly that you’ll forget about it.
Consider SSO as an SSO to be an intermediary who will verify whether the user’s password and keyword are the same as those in the central database, without having to manage the database itself.
It’s similar to an instance where a liquor store’s owner searches for the bottle of someone else’s by referring to the label of the bottle. The store owner isn’t able to remember all the liquor catalogs and can get access to any bottle at any time.
In a highly vulnerable ecosystem such as banking or healthcare it is important not to risk the security of your data, files resources, data or anything else. You need centralized access control that provide complete control over access rights for users. Single sign-on technology offers this capability on an elegant silver platter.
Head on over to datasparc.com for more information on database SSO access.
Let’s not get bogged down in the definitions. Let’s get into the “juicy” section: SSO advantages and why you should not even think about including it in your toolbox for managing users. Do we?
Six Key Benefits of Single Sign-On
1. SSO elevates user experience
Have found yourself frustrated because you didn’t know the username and password of your user for a particular app? Twice? Thrice? Many times?
SSO gives you a much-needed break in this area.
Employees (or anyone else) do not have to type in passwords over and over. They don’t need to wait for password requests to gain access to essential tools for the company. This makes them a happy efficient, content, and productive bunch with no reason to rest in their awe.
2. SSO can cut down on time
Human beings are not machines. Although we’d wish to have dozens of login passwords We are wired to lose a few or, in certain situations even all of them. Urgh!
Set password. Forget password. Reset password.
It’s a painful process on a personal level and, even more so, at an enterprise level, where IT personnel have an abundance of data that need to be secured and a variety of network resources to provide and many other vital obligations to perform.
It is an unnecessary waste in the time (and the resources) in the event that an IT team handles misappropriation of passwords requests in lieu.
With the help of SSO the users will have access to all of your company’s services from one “portal” and only with one login–not hundreds. The one-click access to the required modules or services provides tangible and lasting benefits for time saving.
3. Single sign-on speeds up speed when it is needed the most
In high-stake industries like finance and healthcare, or in large enterprises where many departments and employees demand fast-paced and steady access to the same applications/services, SSO can be incredibly useful.
In situations like this, delay in access, misappropriation of passwords as well as compromised access to resources or tools could literally make the gap between life or death.
4. SSO assists with compliance with regulations
It’s not a secret that businesses have to comply with numerous regulations such as SOX, HIPAA, and most importantly, PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Security Standard for Data).
The latter is a requirement for enterprises to assign unique IDs to employees who have access to devices or resources and provide appropriate verification to external users.
The failure to comply with such an obligation could lead to massive fines, and other unfavorable consequences, such as losing the trust of clients, partners or even employees. It’s not what you want do you?
SSO ensures that you are in compliance with the rules laid out in the world of everything, ensuring that you have a reliable access report and safe file sharing.
5. Reduces IT Helpdesk costs
Since a single sign-on system minimizes your login options to a minimum one is required to manage it is unlikely that users issue a password reset request to the IT department.
We’re not going to say that, but the reality is that ticket requests are quite common.
In reality, Gartner says that 20%-50 percent from all IT helpdesk inquiries are related to credentials. Naturally, the tickets can be costly and with Forrester estimates the price of a password reset to be lower than $22. This is a threat you’ll want to avoid at all cost and SSO assists you in doing it easily.
6. SSO improves security
Ooh, security. Single login and security are almost unbreakable. If you’re unaware that the entire purpose of the “once-only” password is designed to improve the security of highly sensitive corporate resources.
I’ll bring you back to the present. Remember the information we discussed about authentication tokens? The token is stored within the main SSO servers or databases, and not the actual service that users attempt to access each day. This only means one thing: the resource can’t store sensitive login information.
So, in a way the SSO serves as an authentication point. This reduces the risk of malware or phishing attacks.