Save Time--and More--with Advantage Single Sign-On
Single Sign-On (SSO) a new concept several years ago, has enjoyed adoption growth across a wide variety of organizations since then.
So, what is Single Sign-On?
A Single Sign-On solution allows users to log into multiple different applications using the same username and password. This could be a “social login,” such as “Log in with Facebook” or “Log in with Google,” options you’ve no doubt seen on the web before---or a login that is unique to the applications in your organization. Rather than the traditional model in which each application requires its own login, Single Sign-On manages the authentication across several applications:
An Example
Let’s take a look at an example. A membership organization collects dues and allows self-service at a member portal. When a member wants access to content they’ve purchased, they might be directed to a content hosting site or to a learning management system. With Advantage Single Sign-On in place, members can access these systems seamlessly---there’s no need for them to remember a different password for the content site or learning management system, as users are automatically logged in via the Advantage Single Sign-On solution. Clearly, this is a user-friendly flow since it eliminates the need to create, remember and manage multiple logins.
Entitlements
Subscriptions purchased in Advantage are pushed to Advantage Single Sign-On so that connecting applications can retrieve entitlements. Imagine a content system that needs to authenticate the user and know what to serve them. The authentication is managed as just described above, but the entitlement piece tells the content management system what the customer has permission to access and for how long. That’s all part of the Advantage Single Sign-On solution.
Advantage Single Sign-On Saves Time and Customers
Beyond improved usability, Advantage Single Sign-On can yield measurable benefits. Forrester Research found in a survey that up to 40% of Contact Center calls are related to resolving login issues. Given that the cost per call is as high as $70, reducing the number of login-related customer service calls is obviously a priority. A factor in addressing this issue is to reduce the number of logins and passwords a customer has to remember.
And how much business is lost from frustrated customers who just give up when they encounter login problems? Advantage Single Sign-On eliminates that problem, too.
What about Security?
From a technical perspective, best practices such as encryption, password hashing, multi-factor authentication and setting up a secure infrastructure can help mitigate security risks. A second aspect pertains to user behavior: fewer passwords mean less “password fatigue”---using weak passwords, storing them insecurely or seldom changing them because users are overwhelmed by the number of passwords to remember. Security is improved when users are prompted to create just one, strong password that can be used across multiple applications.
Advantage Single Sign-On
We recognize the benefits of SSO and developed a cloud-based solution that gives your customers seamless access across your web applications. In addition, Customer Service personnel can manage customer logins from within Advantage so training time for Advantage users is minimal. If you’d like to see what SSO can do for your organization, please contact us.