Summary
- What are the benefits of SSO for your growing business? SSO simplifies how you access business applications. It strengthens your access controls and makes it easier to manage employee access as your business grows.
- SSO can help you improve security, reduce login-related interruptions, simplify user management, support your compliance efforts, and manage access more easily as your business grows.
- You can get more value from SSO by pairing it with MFA, other cybersecurity tools, stronger security processes, and support from a trusted MSSP.
You set a strong password for your business account. It is long, complicated, and full of random characters. Then you need to sign in and get the message you were hoping to avoid. “Incorrect password.” You try again, but still no luck. One more attempt.
Now you are locked out of the account.
And just like that, you have one more thing to deal with before you can get back to work.
Managing multiple logins is part of running a business today, but your team does not need to juggle every password on its own. Single Sign-On (SSO) gives employees one secure way to access the applications they use for work.
Let’s look at how an SSO solution can reduce login-related interruptions, strengthen access controls, and make it easier for your team to get to the tools they need.
What is Single Sign-On (SSO)?
The average employee manages around 120 personal and 67 work-related passwords for work-related accounts, according to NordPass. That’s a lot for anyone to keep track of, especially on a small team where people already have plenty on their plates. Every login creates another opportunity for a forgotten password, wasted time, or even a security issue.
Single Sign-On, or SSO, gives your team a simpler way to access the applications they use every day. Instead of remembering a different password for every application, SSO lets users log in once with a single but secure set of credentials.
After that, they can access all connected tools without logging in again until SSO is required.
Single Sign-On Process via OneLogin
SSO connects all your apps through one identity provider, like Google Workspace or Microsoft Azure. When a user signs in, the system checks their identity and gives them access to every tool they’re allowed to use.
SSO is faster, safer, and a lot more convenient, so it’s no surprise that 89% of companies are already using SSO.
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how the SSO process works:
- The user goes to log in to an app or service.
- The app redirects them to the SSO provider.
- The user enters one set of credentials (username and password).
- SSO provider verifies their identity and checks permissions.
- Access is granted to all approved apps.
What Are the Benefits of SSO Solutions?
When your business uses more applications, managing employee access becomes more time-consuming and harder to keep secure. SSO can take some of that work off your plate by reducing password-related support requests, simplifying user access, and giving you greater control over authentication.
One Forrester study found that an organization using SSO alongside self-service password resets reduced password-related help desk tickets by 90%. Another study found that IAM-integrated SSO reduced password reset calls to the help desk by 50%.
For your business, those savings can mean less time spent resolving login issues and more time available for value creation. SSO can also help you strengthen access controls, simplify employee onboarding and offboarding, and manage security as your business adds people and applications.
Here are some notable benefits you can expect from an SSO solution.
1. Better Security
Compromised credential breaches are among the most expensive for organizations, averaging $4.5 million per breach. Every employee login creates another access point you need to secure. SSO reduces the number of credentials your employees need to manage and gives you a central place to enforce stronger authentication policies across connected applications.
You can set requirements for password strength, session timeouts, and user access from one system instead of managing these controls separately across every application.
When an employee changes roles or leaves your team, you can also update or remove their access from a central point, which can help you reduce unnecessary access that could become a security risk.
2. Fewer Login-Related Interruptions
34 percent of employees report resetting their passwords at least once a month due to password fatigue, while 15% say they do so weekly.
SSO simplifies the login process by consolidating authentication into a single step, allowing employees to access all necessary tools without unnecessary interruptions or delays. No more jumping between apps or resetting forgotten passwords, as your team can log in once and get to work.
3. Easier User Control
With SSO, you can simplify employee onboarding and offboarding without having to update access across every tool they use. When a new team member joins, you can grant access through a central identity provider and connect them to the applications they need. When someone leaves or changes roles, you can revoke or adjust their access from one place instead of managing each application separately.
Centralized user management also gives you a clearer view of access across your SaaS applications. For example, you may find that a former employee still has an account for a project management platform or that multiple teams have separate subscriptions for similar tools.
Identifying unused accounts and overlapping SaaS tools can help you reduce unnecessary license costs and make better decisions about which subscriptions your business actually needs.
Does SSO create a single point of failure? Because SSO centralizes authentication, an outage could temporarily prevent access to connected applications. To mitigate this risk, choose an SSO provider with strong availability and redundancy, use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to strengthen account security, and maintain a backup access plan for critical systems. Test that plan regularly so you know your team can still access what they need if the SSO service becomes unavailable.
4. Regulatory Compliance
Several regulations require businesses to document IT controls and demonstrate that they have proper methods to protect data. SSO contributes to secure data access and complements broader cybersecurity measures, including antivirus protection.
SSO can support compliance efforts under regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and state privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). It can also support frameworks and standards such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001, which include requirements around access controls and information security.
When you implement SSO as part of an Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution, you can use a central directory to control user access at a detailed level. This can help you comply with regulations that require you to assign the right permissions to each user.
5. SSO is Built to Grow with Your Business
As your business adds new applications or employees, SSO gives you a centralized way to manage access without creating a separate login process for every new tool. You can connect new applications to your SSO environment and manage user access from one place. When someone joins your team, changes roles, or leaves the business, you can update their access without having to manage each application separately.
How Can Your Business Get More Value From SSO?
SSO gives you a strong foundation for managing access, but you can get more from it when you connect it with the rest of your security environment. A Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) can help you configure SSO properly and integrate it with the security controls you already use.
Here are some of the ways an MSSP like Kinetix can help you get more value from your SSO setup:
- Adding Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Trusted managed IT security involves the process of configuring MFA alongside SSO to add another layer of protection to your accounts. Even if someone obtains a user’s password, they still need to complete a second verification step before accessing protected applications.
- Monitoring login activity. An MSSP can monitor authentication activity for unusual login patterns and investigate potential threats before they affect other applications or accounts.
- Strengthening incident response. If an account or application is compromised, an MSSP can help you contain the issue, secure affected access, and restore normal access more quickly.
- Connecting SSO with IAM. An MSSP can integrate SSO with your broader Identity and Access Management (IAM) strategy, giving you a more centralized way to manage user access, authentication, and permissions as your business grows.
Secure Your Path to Business Growth
Managing multiple passwords can quickly become time-consuming, especially as your business adds employees, applications, and new processes. SSO can simplify access and take some of that hassle off your team’s plate, but its value goes beyond reducing password fatigue.
With the right setup, SSO can give you greater control over user access while making it easier to onboard employees and manage access as roles change. Pairing SSO with other cybersecurity tools and stronger security processes can help you build a more comprehensive approach to protecting your business.
Kinetix provides cybersecurity solutions that go beyond SSO setup. Our experts can help you strengthen access controls and build security measures that fit the way your business operates and grows.
Discover where your cybersecurity gaps are and find the right solutions to address them. Reach out to Kinetix today!
