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ESSO: The Next Big Win for IT
A White Paper created byGregg LaRocheDirector of Product ManagementImprivata, Inc.
August 2005TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................... 1
The Problems ESSO was Created to Solve........................................................ 1
The Problem with Early ESSO Solutions........................................................... 2
How Third-Generation ESSO Solves the Problems of Password Proliferation................................................................................... 3
How Third-Generation ESSO Delivers an Immediate, Significant ROI................................................................................. 3
The Broader Impact of Third-Generation ESSO................................................ 4
Imprivata OneSign: The Premier Third-Generation
ESSO Solution...................................................................................................... 5ESSO: The Next Big Win for IT 1
Every so often, a technology comes along that creates a true sea change in the marketplace. For example, virtual private networks (VPN) changed corporate networking forever by delivering apowerful combination of immediate return on investment (ROI), improved security, and greater userconvenience. Indeed, by the time VPN technology reached its third generation, it radically altered theeconomics and capabilities of networking for companies of all sizes. The result? VPNs quickly becamethe de facto standard for remote connectivity.
More recently, Enterprise Single Sign-On (ESSO) has emerged with a similar potential to transformenterprise security. ESSO addresses one of the fastest-growing security issues facing corporationstoday-password proliferation and control. Like third-generation VPNs, ESSO solutions deliver animmediate, significant ROI while strengthening security and improving user convenience-and thebenefits of ESSO span areas as diverse as user productivity, access control, help desk costs, and regulatory compliance. This white paper takes a closer look at ESSO, the problems it solves, and how it will fundamentally change the way corporations address their security needs.
The Problems ESSO was Created to Solve
Every technology solution is developed to solve a problem. In the case of early VPNs, the problem was the prohibitively high cost of deploying, operating and maintaining a private corporate data network. Only the largest companies could afford them, and without a private network, remote users were at the mercy of slow, costly, and insecure modem connections.
For ESSO, the problem is too many application passwords. Passwords have become a nightmare for many organizations. Once a relatively simple, effective and affordable way to ensure that onlyauthorized users could gain access to important business applications, passwords have become asource of frustration, friction and increasing cost for many enterprises.
What changed?
Corporate computing environments became more complex. The number of business applications in those environments has multiplied, leading to a corresponding increase in the number and type of passwords required to access them. As a result, the average user now has to remember more thanseven passwords. To make matters worse, in today's heterogeneous environments, the user mustoften recall several different types of passwords, each with its own "syntax" of alphanumeric characters and symbols.
As passwords have proliferated, it has become increasingly difficult for users to remember them. And when users forget passwords, what do they do? They get locked out of the applications theyneed to perform their work, they get frustrated, and they call the IT help desk for assistance.According to Forrester Research, more than 30% of all help desk costs are password-related. With the cost of a single help desk call at $25 to $40, the cost of password problems can quickly add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for even mid-sized companies. And that's not even factoring in the cost of lost productivity when users are locked out of needed applications due to forgotten passwords.
Copyright ® 2005 Imprivata, Inc.2 ESSO: The Next Big Win for IT
What's worse, the negative impact of password proliferation extends to the ve... [download for more]
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