Revisit our Janaury article for more insight on the benefits of single sign-on.

With single sign-on, agency users have one set of credentials to log onto the agency network and your agency management system. Let’s dig into three reasons why having this set up is important — and how these can help your agency and your employees.

1. With the implementation of single sign-on, an agency can have better control over network and agency management system security. Agency administrators can set password security requirements for their network. All applications the agency uses will require users to choose more secure passwords. They can even assign passwords instead of allowing users to choose their own, ensuring that the passwords are less likely to be stolen, thus providing extra layers of network security. One secure password for all applications instead of multiple less-secure passwords is likely to limit the opportunity for systems to be hacked.
    
2. From the user’s perspective, single sign on is both simpler and safer. Often, you hear users complain that they must remember too many different passwords to get their work done. With the implementation of single sign on, users will only need to remember one password to log into network systems and applications as opposed to creating multiple passwords. This may lead to users creating more complicated passwords, making the system more secure. Users tend to make passwords simple to remember if they must create one for each application that they want to use. The days of using the word “Password” as part of a credential will be eliminated.

3. Single sign on will also lead to fewer requests to have passwords reset and help streamline the user’s work experience. Someone who cannot get into applications is more likely to get frustrated and less likely to be productive. Password fatigue can be very detrimental to an employee’s productivity. Single sign on may lead to less animosity between users and network administrators who are constantly having to stop what they are doing to reset someone’s credentials. If your agency is using multi-factor authentication as part of its network security practice, then single sign may allow the user to get into multiple applications while only having to authenticate one time during the day. This will promote ease of doing business and will enhance employee productivity.

So now that I have outlined the advantages of implementing single sign on, how can you encourage users to adopt it?

Here are my tips:

1. Let users know why you are implementing the process.
2. Explain to the users the advantages of single sign-on and how it will lead to less frustration on their part.
3. Remind them that it is part of their responsibility to help keep your system secure.
4. Make the users feel like they are part of the process. Listen to them after you have completed your implementation and try and work with them in alleviating any frustrations they have.

An informed party is always more willing to adapt then one who is being told that they have no choice.

Tags: Technology , Single Sign On