Factors You Should Consider While Getting An IDaaS Solution
One of the most emerging solutions for managing access to apps is the Identity-as-a-service solution. Still, there are a few factors that must be taken into consideration while selecting an IDaaS solution for your brand.
The most common problem today’s customers and enterprises face is remembering and self-managing many passwords. Moreover, the need to access on-premise and cloud services on the go via their mobile devices makes the situation even worse. Did you know the recent study by NIST records an average of 23 logon events per day? This results in the most common “password-fatigue” problem among users and makes them violate the security policies of the workplace by:
- Using the same password across multiple websites and apps
- Using simple and easy-to-guess passwords
- Writing passwords down to sticky notes or in spreadsheets
- Sharing passwords with colleagues and friends
Letting users self-manage these passwords leads to poor password habits that make them more vulnerable to attacks and increase the burden on IT teams. Expenses are increased thanks to the number and frequency of IT help desk calls regarding “forgotten password” requests. On the other hand, users also start opting for bad habits like using easy-to-guess passwords, writing passwords anywhere, or sharing them with their friends and colleagues, thereby exposing the organization to a huge security risk. Moreover, when the team member leaves the organization, the chances of consistent de-provisioning are very low.
One way brands address these problems is by implementing an identity and access management solution. But unfortunately, many of these IAM solutions are designed without considering proper factors for cloud applications or mobile users, resulting in an IAM solution that can be highly frustrating to integrate with other applications. Instead, what is needed is a simple Identity-as-a-service solution that can support all the applications, unified access policies across the channels, and is easy to integrate with every type of device.
To find out such a solution, you must keep some factors in mind; find out about them here.
1. Single Sign-On (SSO)
A single sign-on solution allows users to log into multiple web properties (Apps, in-premise, cloud-based) using single credentials without needing to type it again for every property. In the absence of single sign-on solutions, users need to remember separate passwords for each of the properties, moreover the frustration of typing credentials every single time. Don’t forget the number of websites an average user needs to access daily. The problem of too simple passwords can make brands more vulnerable to attacks.
To that end, you must take care of a few things while implementing SSO. For starters, the solution must help you enhance user experience while streamlining workflows by offering a unified identity across all the business apps, both in-house and cloud-based. The solution must also unify and provide access to resources via all kinds of devices (Mobile, desktop, tablets)
2. Unified identity everywhere
Another factor you need to analyze is that the IDaaS solution you are opting for must be flexible and robust enough to provide access to corporate identities, whether managed on-premises or cloud-based. To get this “Identity where you want it” approach, the IDaaS solution should be engineered to support easy integration with on-premises active directories and cloud-based deployments that contain nonactive user directories and hybrid directories. Active directory support should allow built-in IWA without needing a separate infrastructure. Moreover, it should automatically load balance and failover without requiring any separate configuration.
3. Access management on mobile
Mobile devices have become the trend to access cloud-based services that require you to prove your identity before accessing resources. The process requires deploying the right client app to the correct device while ensuring a streamlined mobile experience, and that’s where traditional IAM solutions lack. The primary reason is that traditional IAM solutions were designed way before the mobile trend existed. They are more or less web browser-centric and therefore don’t possess the capabilities to ensure streamlined mobile support.
So if you are looking to deploy an IDaaS solution, you must ensure that the solution should let users enroll their mobile devices and must provide a robust authentication process. Additionally, the solution should allow you to impose separate security depending upon the mobile device to ensure higher security.
Additionally, the IDaaS solution should offer unified app management for web-based and mobile client apps. This will eliminate partial access management and silos. This unification will decrease redundant tools, processes, and skill sets.
4. Strong Two-factor authentication
Today, the websites users access are no longer limited to corporate resources. Moreover, most of the users are accessing sites with more than one device. The situation requires you to create multiple passwords, and do I even need to say passwords have become more of a headache rather than protection against hackers? To be clear, passwords alone are no longer safe.
Brands need an IDaaS solution that provides robust authentication and supports multi-factor authentication across all devices, whether cloud-based or on-premise. The solution must also be capable enough to analyze the access request and determine the risk level associated. But at the same time, the solution should be flexible enough not to spoil the user experience. For example, if the access request comes from a shared network and device, it should simply put silent SSO. Still, additional security measures should be taken in case of some unusual requests.
5. Should be compatible with global enterprise
Finally, whichever IDaaS vendor you choose, ensure you do not blindly trust it. Whether your identities are stored on-premises or cloud, you have to ensure you can trust the vendor for the long term. Go for vendors with a global base and a global network of secure data centers to avoid future challenges.
Lastly, an identity-as-a-service solution is a huge time saver that improves user experience and addresses the common shortcomings related to poor password habits. So when you opt for one for your organization, ensure it goes in sync with the above-mentioned considerations.
