While many organizations aren’t afraid to adopt multiple applications to increase productivity, they often compromise on certain value-adding features for cost-reduction. One such feature is Active Directory (AD)-based single sign-on (SSO). Companies don’t realize the potential of such a key feature until they are swarmed by a load of password-related problems reported by users. To help you understand what your organization could be missing out on by not implementing SSO, here are a few excerpts from a white paper written by one of our ADSelfService Plus product experts.
Cost-effective password management
Most organizations use one set of credentials to verify employees’ identities. When users have to use multiple applications in a day to complete their work, they begin struggling to remember their passwords. Having to change their complex passwords regularly for security reasons only adds to the issue. As a result, the company’s help desk is flooded with password-reset tickets.
“Password reset is a costly process that affects employee productivity, increases the help desk’s workload, and could result in security breaches…” – Page 2.
No password overhaul
If AD-based SSO is implemented, users are saved from the burden of remembering multiple passwords. All their applications can be easily accessed with a single click from a centralized console, without any compromise in security.
“Most organizations already use Active Directory to store and manage users’ identities and their access permissions. Doesn’t it make sense to use this information for SSO as well?” -Page 3.
Better employee output
When too many applications are used for work, employees get tired of constantly having to key different credentials into different applications throughout the day just to complete their work. This may make users forget their passwords, confuse their passwords with one another, and even get locked out of the application, driving productivity down. With AD-based SSO in place, employees are freed from the burden of having to remember and key in multiple passwords.
“Users have to remember only their Windows username and password to access all their enterprise applications.” – Page 3.
Improved security
The immediate response by most employees to overcome password fatigue is to create weak passwords that are easy to remember, or use extremely unsafe mechanisms to store their passwords without paying heed to the security risks their actions cause. Either case leaves security vulnerabilities within their organization, which can lead hackers to sensitive data. AD-based SSO strikes the right balance between security and ease of access by mandating complex passwords while enabling users to access all their applications with just one password.
“With SSO, you can minimize password security issues, increase productivity, and ease identity management challenges, all while enhancing user experience.” – Page 3.
The spot-on solution for your SSO needs
ADSelfService Plus is an enterprise SSO solution that provides users with seamless, one-click access to enterprise applications. It lets users access all their cloud applications using just one password. Here are a few key advantages of ADSelfService Plus’ SSO feature:
- Restricted access based on OU/group memberships and specific user attribute filters.
- Flexible attributes for account linking between AD and cloud applications.
- SSO support for both service provider (SP) and identity provider (IdP)-initiated flow.
- SSO support for any other SAML 2.0 application—whether it’s internally developed, custom, or a third-party service provider application—in addition to support for over 100 applications.
- Multi-factor authentication using a variety of mechanisms like Duo Security, Google Authenticator, etc. for both SP and IdP-initiated login.
- Support for multiple configurations within ADSelfService Plus for each SSO-supported application.
Get your free copy of the white paper, Streamlining cloud access and improving security with Active Directory-based single sign-on, now!
