Is All-in-One Platforms the Future of Identity-Based Security?

With the rapid growth of cloud-based solutions, it’s no surprise that enterprises are leaning towards all-in-one platforms for accessing most authentication and authorization tools. This emphasizes a strong recognition of all-in-one platforms used for handling a comprehensive set of tasks with managing permissions, privileges, and entitlements in the future.

The rapid growth of cloud-based solutions is a direct result of technology evolving, stacks growing increasingly larger, and more field teams experiencing the hassle of juggling their work across multiple platforms.

All-in-One Identity Platforms

All-in-one identity platforms include the provision of accessibility with a suite of software tools designed for managing multiple access features and identity capabilities. Developed to perform every aspect of an organization’s security efforts, they include features such as:

• Automatic provisioning of user accounts
• Workflow and self-service management
• Password management
• Single sign-on (SSO)
• Role-based Access Control (RBAC) / Access Governance
• Audit and compliance

Advantages of Using All-in-One Identity Platforms

• Simplifies the lives of end-users

IAM systems are equipped to cater to all types of users such as employees, third parties, contractors, guests, customers, vendors, and partners for accessing corporate systems of business organizations, regardless of their location, time, or the gadget they use.

All-in-one platforms eliminate the need for managing dozens of accounts for various corporate applications or resources. They establish a unique digital identity for each user that includes a single set of credentials.

SSO authentication elevates user experience, saves time, and boosts speed in high-stake industries like finance and healthcare. Furthermore, SSO revamps security and helps with regulatory compliance.

• Promotes accessibility

High-level accessibility leads to increased usability and with an all-in-one platform enterprises need not bounce from one platform to another constantly throughout their routine.

• Curbs problematic password issues

Apart from enabling sign-in features and boosting productivity, IAM systems also prevent users from resorting to sticking passwords on their monitors. The major cause of data breaches occurring in today’s internet world is a result of compromised user credentials.

By offering password management features, all-in-one systems can help security admins in enforcing the best password practices that involve a minimum length of 8–10 characters, updating passwords frequently, and enabling secure authentication measures for access such as biometrics.

• Improves security features

Security admins are granted the power of enforcing security policies on a company-wide scale with the help of IAM systems. This ensures that authentication and security measures are taken across all platforms, applications, and devices. Apart from preventing privilege creep, all-in-one policies can also help in easily identifying violations, removing inappropriate access privileges, and revoking access whenever needed.

Using AI and machine learning, all-in-one platforms can automatically identify and block anomalous activity. Playing a key role in assigning unique identities to connected devices, IAM systems work on demonstrating the usage of user credentials and integrating with IoT systems.

• Reduces user workload

Companies offering single-use solutions have to train their employees to handle multiple platforms which might result in reduced productivity for that term. There are increased chances of errors as employees tend to easily mix up various applications during their hectic schedules. This can harm customer experience as well as impact the brand’s services.

With no additional requirement of training for handling all-in-one platforms, companies have a reduced workload which leads to a higher potential for growth and a smooth, professional experience.

• Maintains regulatory compliance

All-in-one identity-based security platforms prove their compliance with various regulations and policies by helping organizations understand the need for verifying data, enabling access, protecting access, revoking access, and managing passwords. Regulations such as the HIPAA, GDPR, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and PCI DSS are directly related to IAM systems based on data security, privacy, and protection.

• Reduces management costs

People are not able to remember multiple passwords as they are not able to memorize dozens of URLs, usernames, and passwords across multiple applications and platforms. As a result, the IT staff members are spending most of their time resetting passwords rather than focusing on their strategic products and improving organizational productivity.

The initiation of all-in-one systems can simplify management issues and costs by assisting desk employees and administrators. The financial expenditure can be eliminated and minimized by preventing data breaches and consolidating user accounts into single identities.

• Assists security teams

The establishment and functioning of an all-in-one platform play a vital role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of security teams. Using IAM systems, IT managers and administrators can grant access rights to multiple users based on their predefined roles. This leads to reducing access rights for private associations by significantly cutting down user onboarding and offboarding times.

By preventing essential resources from being accessed, security teams and admins can have a simplified set of tasks. Moreover, this also facilitates a reduction in overhead costs for companies and business partners by sharing a single application for all user identities.

The Bottom Line

With the provision of authentication methods such as two-factor authentication (2FA) or single sign-on (SSO), users can easily access multiple cloud-based, web-based, and virtual applications with their unique identity. You can easily deliver engaging reports from conception to completion and make data-informed improvements.

Moreover, with the wide range of brilliant features offered by identity-based security systems to reduce navigation and improve work efficiency, all multinational companies and large-scale organizations get to achieve their goals and streamline their operations with all-in-one platforms.