As businesses become increasingly connected, the need for fast, convenient and secure access grows. Many organizations use dozens, if not hundreds, of programs throughout the day — the average business uses 110 apps to get the job done. Without identity management, your employees will spend valuable time and resources keeping track of their accounts, and the organization takes on a higher risk of data breaches.
An identity provider can offer efficiency, security and visibility by connecting your programs and offering a vast range of identity management tools.
What Is An Identity Provider?
An identity provider (IdP) provides services and systems to store and manage your company’s digital identities. IdP is what connects users to the resources they need, from calendars to enterprise resource planning apps.
If you’ve ever logged into something using your Google or Facebook account, you’ve seen identity provision at work. Customers, employees and business partners can use these tools to quickly log into multiple applications with just one set of credentials. The employer also gets exceptional control over user logins.
IdPs can enable automation and easier management for IT teams. Users don’t have to remember the details of password best practices; and IT doesn’t need to remove prior employees from the system manually. Detailed oversight allows you to keep security tight while improving user access. For example, you can add and remove privileges to keep data on a need-to-know basis for every employee in a specific category.
The identity management platform is heavily connected and generally involves these three steps:
- Request: The user enters their credentials from one login, such as a Google or general organizational account.
- Verification: The IdP connects with the company’s IT team to determine the user’s permissions and resources.
- Unlocking: The IdP provides access to the appropriate resources and logs the entry in a visible resource.
These steps happen in seconds, like any other login, but offer many other benefits.
5 Ways an IdP Solves Business Problems
An IdP offers a simple solution to many modern businesses’ most significant pain points. Here are just a few of the ways it helps.
1. No More Password Fatigue
Password fatigue happens when users must create, remember and use different passwords for their accounts. It can cause stress for the users, reduce their productivity and increase risk for the company. Users might reuse passwords or write them down on unprotected notes or spreadsheets. These unsanctioned tools are much easier for hackers to get into and could put the company’s data at risk.
Identity management avoids password fatigue by minimizing the number of credentials required. An IdP can also eliminate poor passwords by implementing requirements like a certain number of characters or numbers.
2. Increased Efficiency
An IdP lets users access their resources from any device or location. They spend much less time finding and resetting passwords and more time focused on their work. If they need to reset a password, they can do it in minutes instead of waiting for help from the IT department.
IdP can also increase efficiency by reducing problems related to data leaks. You can reduce the time spent on damage control and the extensive costs of data breaches.
3. Simple Account Creations
IdPs simplify creating new accounts, allowing new employees to get started quickly. Large-scale operations can benefit from easy account creation despite thousands of users.
4. Simplified Problem Solving
IdP offers self-service and logging, two tools that make it easier to solve problems. Self-service tools like account creation, access requests and password resets allow users to handle issues without involving IT. They can access their programs quickly, regardless of IT’s business hours.
Access logs show you who did what and when they did it. A log can help you solve internal problems by showing who last edited a file. It also creates an audit-ready system if you need to work with industry regulators.
5. Connections for All Accounts
A strong IdP offers extensive visibility and links all your resources under one umbrella. It can help bring disparate databases into one place, so you can make a clear picture of your information and avoid data silos.
The Benefits of Having an IdP
With capabilities like these, an IdP offers advantages across security, efficiency and future opportunities:
1. Security
Your IdP software can add high-security tools to the login process, even for highly regulated industries like finance and healthcare. You can enable features like:
- Multifactor authentication: Multifactor authentication requires the user to confirm their identity through a secondary method, like a code from a text message, for better verification practices.
- Single sign-on: Single sign-on allows users to log into multiple apps with one set of credentials.
- Logs and audits: If you need to figure out who accessed a file or provide records to a third-party regulator, IdP can help.
A third-party IdP is dedicated to security and stays up-to-date on industry threats and trends.
2. Scalability
Expanding a business with manual identity management can be unwieldy. An IdP is scalable, so you can adapt it to your business needs. Adding more staff or adjusting access parameters is a fast and simple process. IdPs can also update your solutions in response to new technologies, such as fingerprints or face identification.
3. Speed
Login problems can add up. Faster verification and access from an IdP can allow users to work more efficiently and dive into more valuable tasks. Speedy logins provide a better experience for both customers and employees, contributing to higher satisfaction levels across the board.
4. Savings
Along with the profitability that comes increased with efficiency, your IdP can also help you save by:
- Avoiding security problems: You can avoid expensive data breaches with stronger security protocols from an IdP.
- Improving business flexibility: An IdP’s extensive scalability and visibility let you be prepared for whatever comes next. You can easily manage and add identities and view your data in one place.
- Boosting your reputation: Security issues and inefficient business operations can damage your reputation with customers, potential employees and partners. By improving these areas, an IdP can help you avoid reputational damage and the expenses that come with it.
5. Stability
IdP software is easy to work with and can help you avoid unexpected hiccups. You can make adjustments on the fly and provide your users with more consistency. Self-service options help reduce downtime — instead of waiting for someone to share a login or for IT to reset a password, users can bypass the disruption entirely.
6. Service
A smoother, faster experience is a surefire way to appeal to customers, employees and partners. An IdP could help your customer support team access multiple resources to solve problems quickly or provide self-service options that eliminate interaction. Employees can be more responsive without the frustration of keeping track of passwords and the stress of maintaining high security with countless sets of credentials.
Explore Identity Solutions From Optimal IdM
If you use multiple programs in your organization, IdP can transform the way you do business. From connectivity to security, the right identity and access management solution offers extensive benefits throughout the company.
Optimal IdM is a leader in identity solutions for clients across the globe. We’ll tailor our services to your organization’s unique needs with the help of industry-leading technologies and highly trained IT professionals. Reach out today to learn more about how we can bring affordable, effective IdM to your business.
