Choosing the Perfect Single Sign-on Solution for Your Organization
In the quest to leverage cloud and SaaS applications to their benefit, CIOs and CEOs are eagerly shifting their companies to a more distributed architectural framework. As a result, the blend of traditional, cloud-based and SaaS applications has presented unique challenges for effective and efficient access management. One of the challenges is choosing the perfect Single Sign-On solution for a seamless user-experience, enhanced productivity and improved security. The idea behind SSO is to allow users to access all, or a subset, of their applications using a single set of credentials.
The challenge, however, lies in enterprises utilizing different types of applications. While some vendors focus on providing SSO for traditional, on-premise applications, others provide SSO solutions for cloud-based and SaaS applications. To tackle this problem CIOs are often forced to opt for a multi-vendor SSO solution. However, poor integration, high implementation costs and redundancies are some of the reasons why such solutions often fail to deliver a quality user experience and end up decreasing productivity. So what can you do, as a CIO or CEO, to ensure that the SSO solution you choose has the ability to securely and efficiently provide access to your users?
Each company has its own unique requirements when it comes to security and protection. However, there are some basic checkpoints to consider for finding a SSO solution that can support the overall identity and access management system of your organization. Here’s a checklist of those basic rules that’ll help you choose an SSO solution that meets the unique security and usability requirements of your company.
Remote Network Access to all Types of Applications and Network Resources
There are a number of SSO solutions available, but they either cater to on-premise applications or cloud and SaaS applications. Naturally, you will be focusing on a multi-vendor solution that caters to traditional as well as cloud and SaaS applications. But often, CIOs tend to neglect the capability of SSO solution to provide remote access to data and other network resources. Before choosing a SSO solution, you must make sure that it manages access to all applications including enterprise apps, web apps and VDI, regardless of their deployment in a datacenter, cloud or as a SaaS. Additionally, ensure that your users can also securely and easily access corporate resources like network fileshare etc.
On-premise User Directory for Accessing SaaS Applications
Enterprises are increasingly relying on SaaS applications such as Office 365. These applications require enterprise users to access the cloud outside of their internal network. To implement SSO for these applications, most solutions require users to move their user directory to the cloud which could potentially become a security threat. This problem can be overcome by opting for a SSO solution that allows on-premise user directory for accessing SaaS apps.
Support for Multi-Factor Authentication Mechanisms and Protocols
Most of the companies today have people that work remotely; it can be their own employees or third party contractors. Whatever the reason may be, your applications and resources will most likely be accessed by people that are not a part of your user directory. Relying solely on username and passwords is not enough. It’s imperative that you choose an SSO solution that supports other authentication mechanisms and protocols of your organization. The solution should allow access based on factors like user’s location, credibility and app sensitivity without unnecessary restrictions that can hinder productivity. A solution that can intelligently detect and respond to potential threats will strengthen your organization’s security protocols.
Easy Integration into the Company’s Existing Environment
An SSO solution that does not easily integrate with your company’s environment will eventually lead to increased maintenance and integration costs and poor customer experience. The right SSO solution should easily fit with your existing applications, end devices and authentication mechanisms and protocols. Integrating the SSO solution should not require significant modification in your existing environment.The right provider will enable the SSO solution without compromising your company’s other solutions. Infact, it should also seamlessly integrate with your identity providers and support role based access.
Troubleshooting Tools and Reports
In addition to companies having a number of different types of apps, users are also using various devices to access those apps. While this is great for productivity, the associated risks need to be addressed appropriately. A multi-vendor solution for different types of applications means multiple monitoring tools that can considerably delay troubleshooting should an issue occur. Therefore, it’s best to choose an SSO solution that caters to multiple app types with monitoring tools that allow quick resolving of issues regardless of the app type. Additionally, the SSO solution should provide reports and audits that allow strengthening of your organization’s security protocols based on threat data.
The right SSO solution has the potential to enhance user experience and increase productivity while ensuring true end-to-end security. But before settling on a Single Sign-On solution, CIOs and CEOs need to dig a little deeper to understand their company’s SSO requirements. The perfect solution will be the one that supports all applications on all end user devices. It should easily integrate with the existing environment and support multi-factor authentication and on-premise user directory without impending the end users. Finding the right fit will have a huge impact on your organization by cutting the costs, and providing a secure and seamless user experience to maximize productivity.
