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Single Sign On (SSO) - Integrated Systems
Michael Mayrell, Insala Technology Coordinator
In today's online world, users have multiple email services, online banking, favorite online stores and potentially a dating service or two. Access to these services is achieved through the typical username and password screen prompts. Users then have to recall which of the many username and password combinations to enter. The business world faces similar issues with HR systems, accounting systems, succession planning systems and hundreds of other integral business systems. The majority of these tools are purchased from different providers and each one has a unique set of login procedures. SSO (Single Sign On) gives a company the ability to use one login for all systems giving the end user a seamless work environment.
This integration is usually achieved by passing tokens from one main system to the minor systems like a "Hub and Spoke" model where the main system is bound to the company's employee directory. Once the token is passed from the main system to one of the minor systems, the token gets authenticated and the user is then automatically logged in.
There are many examples of currently implemented SSO solutions. Listed below are three of the most widely used types:
- Enterprise Single Sign-on: For Windows based applications, this SSO solution typically works by automatically filling in username and password dialogs.
- Kerberos: This SSO solution uses an independent server which handles logins and authentication.
- Web Single Sign-on: As its name implies, this is the SSO solution for intranet and web applications. Tokens are typically stored in cookies and passed from one application service to another to maintain authentication state.
The web single sign-on is the newest of the three and with the prevalence of web applications is quickly becoming the most popular. Web SSO can allow a company to host an intranet site that has access to services offered by many online vendors. These vendors can provide a company's intranet with rich web content that may have been too expensive to create internally. These web applications can range from project management to performance management and succession planning tools.
As new technology in workplace tools advances, it is becoming more important to integrate them. With integrated systems, employees can work faster and companies can better manage the tools available to them.
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