It’s important for a company to ensure that their computer networks are safe and secure. One of the best ways they can do this is through access management and the software solutions they have to offer. Access management functions on a pretty simple concept. It’s important to limit access to the system to the people who really need it. Furthermore this can work on both an internal and external level within a computer system. Keep unauthorized people out at the “front gate” and then further layers depending on specific software and system.
Access management solutions also work if you’re providing services to customers. This is how you ensure that only paying customers are using the services being offered and no one is stealing software they shouldn’t have access to. Access management is an important part of network safety and should never be taken for granted.
Workforce Access Management
Workforce management is intended to ensure that hundreds or thousands of employees are able to access work specific software and computer networks. It’s very common to have several layers of security on log-in. In addition, sometimes access is only limited to work provided devices and computers.
Typically workforce access management will start with multi-factor authentication. You will need your password and some sort of authenticator software on a phone or other sort of authentication. One benefit to workforce access management is that once people are “in”, they will often take advantage of SSO (single sign on) access. This means that anything you access from your device will be able to automatically use software in which it has the same credentials. Enterprise level companies should always be taking advantage of workforce access management.
Customer Access Management
One aspect of access management that has not been discussed as of yet is customer facing platforms. These platforms are designed to allow customers access to software and services they may have bought or subscribed to. Things are a bit different in the customer access management arena. While workforce management is centered around a smaller group, customer access management can actually require it to work for millions and millions of people. This can mean that it’s potentially easier to use with less hoops to jump through. Customer access management is very common both on social platforms and through the many cloud platforms that allow access to software offerings. These rarely have something similar to SSO, as it’s intended for individual customers instead of a single user who may use dozens of things.
Best Software Choices
There’s a large number of different software options which are available for people who need identity and access management. Some of the best include:
- Dashlane Business: This is an access management option which offers a number of features. People looking for password sharing, SSO or directory integration are searching in the right place.
- JumpCloud - This is an access management options hich is actually intended for small businesses. While most seem to be designed for enterprise level business, a small business option is a nice change. It’s very intuitive and has a wonderful user interface.
- CyberArk - This is an IAM software that has a main focus on security. It may not be quite as intuitive as others, but the tradeoff is certainly worth it. CyberArk also uses AI to help defend from potential intrusion and keeps threats out.
- Okta - Okta has thousands of different integrations, meaning you can easily find something that actually works for you. It should be noted that figuring out how much it’s going to cost is difficult for that same reason. You’ll need to nail down with a representative exactly what you’re after.