Some of the biggest, most successful companies are completely remote and digital. It’s 2021, and it will always be known as the year of digitalization. It is a year of success as well, and there are tons of apps and services that were developed during this period. Many of those apps are owned by the same company, and they require you to sign in on them, which can be boring at times, and it puts extra pressure on the IT department.
That is why a single sign-on solution is the right choice for those problems. In the following, we’ll explain all about it- how it works, why it is so important, and if you’re patient enough, we’ll treat you with some valuable info on the best software solution – the shibboleth SSO, which you should implement in your company or enterprise.
What is SSO?
Leading web companies such as Google have been using this method for years now. Not to mention that Facebook started using it pretty recently and it does wonders. You don’t need a spare notebook to keep all your emails and passwords written away from everyone else. Both Google and Facebook have one thing in common and that’s owning multiple apps that are connected. And what do you do there? You log in on one app, and you’re automatically connected to the rest. You knew that it sounded familiar!
If you want to explain this to somebody, simply tell them that they have tons of apps on their phone, including Gmail for example. Now, the phone is brand new, they’re just setting it up, and it asks for their email, right? They give the email, and afterward, they sync the phone. That’s all they ever do! They don’t write their address over and over again for different apps. By simply typing it on the phone, the address is connected to every app that is supported by Google, and it’s also synced to your laptop or other phones. Who would’ve thought that technology would advance this much?
How does SSO work?
We’ve explained it in simple words, but let’s dive deeper now. How does the Single sign-on actually work? Are you safe with this method? Does it make you vulnerable to hackers?
Well, to answer the last two questions- yes, the SSO is quite safe if used correctly, and it doesn’t put you at risk of hackers. If it was that dysfunctional, leading web companies would avoid it. Instead, it seems as if they are praising it!
Onto the first question, you need to remember three main parts of the SSO. Apps, domains, and the central authentication server. The last one stands in between the apps, and it connects them. Every website has its own domain. Usually, sites owned by the same company have domains that are connected. Once you type in your email and password onto one website, the authentication server instantly connects you with the other sites. By doing so, once you visit the other related sites, you won’t be asked to sign in again. Once we go into detail, it can get a bit complicated, but if you imagine the parts and put links to them, you’ll get a pretty clear picture.
Clients POV
To the client, the process looks really simple and almost instant. We underestimate all the hard work behind it. But, it would be a lot harder if we had to sign in on every app and site that we visit. IT departments are working hard to meet our demands and needs.
From our point of view, we simply open an app, type our email and password, and we are connected. After that, we forget all about it. We leave the app, visit another one, we are amazed that we are signed in and relieved that we don’t have to type that horrendously long password ever again!
The Good Sides and the Bad Sides of SSO
There is a good and a bad side to every modern, digital thing. The same goes for the SSO. Starting with the good ones, SSO decreases the amount of time we need to sign in, and it takes off a lot of burden from the IT departments. Makes things run smoothly, while also stimulating the productivity of both the workers and clients.
On the other hand, there are bad sides, such as increased vulnerability because you’ll be using only one password. That won’t be a big deal if you follow the rules of strong passwords. Lower and uppercase, numbers, and different marks are welcome.
Why Choose Shibboleth SSO?
We’ll cut straight to the deal, and we’ll tell you why shibboleth is the right choice for any company out there when it comes to SSO. Shibboleth is one of the fastest-growing solutions at the moment, and many big companies lay their trust in them. The speed and also the open-source implementation are the main deal-makers with this solution. Not to mention its security and most importantly the app compatibility. It’s one of the must-haves for startups and new enterprises along with stable or backup internet connection to avoid internet outage which may also endanger security.
Shibboleth for end-users is the most secure, quick, and convenient login process. It allows the users to access their work tools with one set of credentials and your employees won’t even notice the implementation or face any hurdles. You’ll be getting even more than what you’ve asked for by opting for this SSO solution!
