Benefits of SSO for Enterprises

Single Sign-On (SSO) is being used to make firms safer by simplifying the login process. However, as they continue to digitize and transition to cloud-based solutions, SSO is becoming more important.

Security threats increase to become more dangerous than ever before, enterprises will face increasing costs of every security outage.

According to Statista’s data on Cybercrime worldwide, ‘The global indicator ‘Estimated Cost of Cybercrime’ in the cybersecurity market was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 6.4 trillion U.S. dollars (+69.41 percent). After the eleventh consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 15.63 trillion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2029.’

This is a scary scenario and enterprises need work on increasingly smarter strategies, adopt better tools to fight this risk.

Often the starting point of cyber risk is access and identity management. One of the baseline activities that CISOs recommend, is to adopt a Single Sign On policy (SSO). It helps to keep the process simple, and control unauthorized access. We discuss a bit more on how companies can use SSO to add a layer of better security strategy to their infrastructure.

What Is SSO?

As per IBM,

The rise in cyber security threats has added considerably to its growth.

According to a recent report by SkyQuest,

Here, SSO helps verify the users for all the apps they have been granted access to. It also stops additional prompts when users change applications within the same session.

SSOs are also useful for recording user activities and keeping track of user accounts.

Now firms are relying on SSO tools as a strategy. It helps to meet the challenges of handling multiple identities and access points. Thus, making it a vital part of the modern IT infrastructure.

Also read: Addressing the Security Risks Associated with Cloud Data

Benefits of SSO

By using a single sign-on system, firms’ can better manage credentials and user accounts. This can lead to several other advantages as well. Some of them are:

Enhanced Security

SSO is one of the most secure authentication methods available, providing users with advanced security against credential-based attacks. These attacks usually happen when users with many passwords tend to use the same short and weak passwords, or slight variations of them, for all of their logins.

If a hacker manages to crack one of these passwords, they could gain access to several applications. Single Sign-On (SSO) enables users to consolidate multiple short and weak passwords into a single, long, strong password. It then is much easier for users to remember and much more difficult for hackers to compromise.

The main reasons SSO offers greater security than other Auth methods include:

• Reduces risks related with passwords, such as using weak or repeated passwords, and password fatigue.
• Centralized authentication makes it harder for phishing attacks to succeed.
• It reduces the attack vectors and thus helps keep systems safe.

SSO works best when merged into a connected tech stack. Many firms are introducing SSO and combining it with measures such as threat detection and prevention. This reduces the odds of a cyberattack and its potential impact are greatly reduced.

Streamlined Access Management

SSO makes it easy to manage access to all accounts and systems from one place. It helps troubleshoot and control app access, as well as use of sensitive data. In firms where many apps are used, SSO can bring together user identities across all these apps to give admins a complete view.

It’s also easy to add and remove users, which makes it a great tool for firms that have high employee turnover. With SSO, adding a new user is as simple as entering their information into the main database. Removing a user is as easy as deleting their details

Regulatory Compliance

SSO simplifies adherence with laws related to safeguarding personal identity information (PII) and controlling data access. This also includes specific provisions in certain laws like HIPAA concerning session time-outs.

HIPAA laws also mandate automatic user logoff, which most SSO solutions enable. Moreover, many regulations require effective user authentication for accessing electronic records and audit controls for tracking activity and access.

Usability

With a vast number of enterprises moving their IT infrastructure to cloud, applications are dominating almost all business processes.

Logging in once saves time and improves employee productivity. As employees switch between apps every hour, removing multiple logins can save a company significant time and money.

An identity and access management system usually includes SSO solutions with an app portal. Employees can select an app from the portal to use it. If the user doesn’t have an app, they can request it through the portal and it’s added with SSO enabled. This process is quick, so users who might hesitate to request or use apps are more likely to use them.

Cost Savings

SSO can also help manage costs by streamlining the login process across several of their most-used pieces of software. Two major areas are:

• Reduced IT Help Desk Usage: forgotten passwords and wrong entries make a bulk of helpdesk support jobs. These activities usually involve password resets or assistance with logging in. Single Sign-On (SSO) helps reduce these calls, freeing up IT resources. It also lowers the costs related to frequent password resets.
• License Optimization: Firms can effectively manage user licenses and subscriptions for multiple applications. This can improve licensing cost savings by identifying which accounts need to be kept and seeking out bundle deals. Thus, SSO can save money for firms adding software projects to their tech stack.

Improved UX

SSO makes it easier for employees and customers to access multiple programs and apps with just one login. This greatly improves user experience (UX).

When users forget their passwords, the SSO platform allows them to recover access to all connected accounts. SSO does this without dealing with each account separately. This makes it easier to handle issues that may arise.

Single Sign-On (SSO) simplifies login and account management, making it easier and less stressful. This can help improve overall stakeholder satisfaction and retention.

Also read: Finding the Right Balance Between Security and User Experience

Conclusion

Without an SSO, every access that employees have, will need a separate set of login details. Keeping track of all these logins can lead to high costs to manage everything, security issues, and inefficiencies.

Adopting SSO has many advantages. It can also create a seamless user experience, making it easier to follow the firm’s security processes.

However, to ensure the success of a SSO strategy, it’s crucial to choose the right solution tailored to the firm’s specific needs.