Why you should have one login for all business applications and websites

Did you know that the average person uses between 70 and 80 passwords? That’s an incredible amount of login data to remember, and it’s no surprise that employees frequently forget their credentials. That’s where single sign-on (SSO) solutions come in. 

SSO essentially lets you enter one set of login details — such as a username and password — to access multiple business applications. But why should you deploy SSO across your organization, and how do you choose the right solution for your business needs? To answer these questions, let’s start by assessing why multi-account credential security fails. 

The problem with multi-account credential security

Credential security problems typically stem from one root cause — bad password management. Here’s what we mean. 

  • If employees need to remember multiple passwords, they’re more likely to choose simple options that are easy to remember. The problem? If they’re easy to remember, they’re simple to hack. 
  • Employees may write all their passwords down, and unless they store them safely, this is an obvious security risk.
  • There’s a good chance employees will forget their login details, so they’ll need to contact the IT help desk. This decreases productivity. 

How one-login solutions improve security 

Here’s a rundown of the key ways that one-login solutions improve your credential security and benefit your company.

  • There’s a greater emphasis on choosing a strong password. 
  • Once an employee leaves the company, they lose login privileges — there’s no need to worry about unauthorized access.
  • Employees are more likely to use company-approved apps rather than using their own applications to handle sensitive data. 
  • SSO helps reduce IT costs: the average password reset costs your business around $70 each time. So, you’re not just improving overall business efficiency — you’re streamlining IT expenditure, too. 

Popular login solutions to choose from

Ready to rethink your credential security strategy? To help you get started, here are the two most popular one-login implementations to choose from.

Software-based solutions

Software-based solutions refers to on-premise SSO. This software can be sold as a standalone product, or you can purchase it alongside other tools. It’s useful for companies of all sizes, and you can combine it with cloud-based tools for improved scalability.

Cloud-based solutions

Cloud-based SSO is the most scalable option. It’s great for remote workforces because everything is all managed online. You can integrate cloud-based SSO into other cloud services to streamline your IT infrastructure. 

Choosing your single login solution

Which solution you choose largely depends on:

  • The size of your company
  • Your security needs
  • Where your employees are based
  • Your long-term business objectives (e.g., scalability) 
  • The IT infrastructure you already have in place 

Before rolling out SSO, it’s a good idea to consult an IT specialist or managed service provider.

Takeaway

As you can see, SSO solutions can help improve security across your company. However, that’s not to say they’re invulnerable — a single set of login credentials presents unique challenges of their own. So, for more information about optimizing credential security for your business and improving your overall cybersecurity, contact us today.