Password Management – The road to IT productivity

Authored by Jerry Aubel, Senior Product Marketing Manager

Think fast: what’s the most critical element of a robust Identity and Access Management strategy?

Ask any security team, and I’ll wager that their answers will be all over the map. One key element that’s sometimes overlooked is password management. But take a closer look, and you’ll likely agree it’s a critical capability, especially in an environment of a mostly remote workforce. If organizations want to realize a better business experience, reduce IT service desk costs, and enhance ROI from remote work, then they need modern password reset and management functionalities. Here are a few use cases where SailPoint’s Password Management can help.

Self-Service User Onboarding with Password Reset

Let’s say there’s a new joiner to your organization. SailPoint Password Management can provide one-time onboarding and Identity confirmation of an employee. The new user can quickly and easily enroll their security questions from a list of options. As they enroll, the system will email the employee with notifications confirming their completed workflows. SailPoint Password Management can also provide self-service Active Directory (AD) password reset from a browser, Windows login or lock-screen. It also can ensure password policy enforcement across the platform, from the strength of passwords to the frequency of changes.

Why is this important? With a remote workforce, new hires may not be able to visit an office. This capability saves administration costs, improves the business experience, and makes the entire process faster, easier, and more convenient. Bottom line: new employees can be working and productive on day one, easily and – most importantly – securely.

Self-Service Password Changes Outside of Active Directory

For another use case, let’s consider self-service password changes outside of AD. Employees may need to regularly update their passwords for enterprise applications like Salesforce, Workday, or any other integrated app. The typical reset “workflow” for these types of changes is a call to the IT service desk, and that’s an expensive proposition, given that 30% or more of all IT Service Desk calls are password reset-related, according to a Gartner report.

SailPoint Password Management provides a default, out-of-the-box configuration that can enforce different password policies tailored to specific applications. The module tracks these configurations via standard change request processes, ensuring that updates and requests are documented. In addition, there are optional approvals for password reset for sensitive or non-human accounts, like shared or service accounts, providing added security to reduce identity risk for human and machine accounts. Ultimately, SailPoint Password Management can help users reset passwords at 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday and let your IT service desk re-focus up to a third of its time and resources on higher-priority work.

All this translates to greater user productivity, reduced IT service desk burden and cost, and a more empowered and improved business experience. If you want to learn more about the SailPoint Identity Security Cloud or IdentityNow solution, request a live demo from a SailPoint expert.