Single sign-on benefits everyone from healthcare to government agencies
As an authorized reseller and implementer of Imprivata's Enterprise Access Management, Forward Advantage has shared many examples over the years of how single sign-on benefits hospitals and healthcare organizations. Eliminating the need to remember and reenter multiple, complex passwords across a variety of applications saves busy clinicians and staff valuable time, allows for more facetime with patients, and enhances security. However, it’s important to note that these benefits are not exclusive to healthcare, as shown by Madera County Department of Child Support Services (DCSS).
Sarah Honeycutt, Director at Madera County DCSS which enforces child support, paternity, and medical support orders, discusses below how the agency consists of 32 employees who use up to 20 different applications per day to manage child services for local families. This would mean at least 20 unique passwords for employees if it weren’t for Enterprise Access Management, implemented by Forward Advantage more than a decade ago.
“We're saving anywhere from 25 - 45 minutes per day per employee.” - Sarah Honeycutt, Director at Madera County DCSS
Madera County DCSS insights
with Sarah Honeycutt, Director at Madera County
Q: What challenges does single sign-on solve at your organization?
We did a time study because we have close to 20 different applications that our staff log into for child support cases. It is state mandated that our systems time out after 15 minutes of inactivity, so it was frustrating for employees if they were working on a case and had to log back in after stepping away for a short amount of time. We did the cost comparison and determined we’d save money with Enterprise Access Management by getting that time back each day. We’re saving anywhere from 20-45 minutes per day per employee.
Q: Is Imprivata OneSign improving security?
We have a lot of tools to do our jobs effectively, but this creates the need for many different passwords which are often in different formats. Employees were writing down passwords, printing them out, and leaving them on their desks which left them exposed. This wasn’t in line with security protocols dictated by the county, state, and IRS. Imprivata OneSign® really cuts down on these security issues because we can quickly get into our programs.
Q: Describe the workflow in place with Enterprise Access Management.
We abide by strict rules for protecting federal tax information and this includes two-factor authentication. We satisfy this requirement by using badges with a card reader, so an employee taps their badge at the start of the day and enters their username and a single password. From that point on, they can automatically access any of their applications. If their laptop is inactive for 15 minutes, they just need to re-tap and re-enter that single password.
Q: How does Enterprise Access Management enhance staff satisfaction and productivity?
From an employee standpoint, single sign-on saves a lot of time and eliminates the headache of having to remember or write down all these passwords. We were also doing a lot of password resets from people changing their passwords and not remembering them. Depending on the application, they’d have to contact me or the state to have their password reset, but now this isn’t an issue. It’s easy to maneuver most things, so I can go in and set up my own programs with single sign-on. I do the simple ones myself and only reach out to Forward Advantage if I can’t figure it out.
Q: Describe your implementation and support experience with Forward Advantage.
Our support from Forward Advantage has been great, and our rep figured out some complicated scenarios when nobody else could. The transition to Enterprise Access Management was seamless with no downtime and minimal training.
Q: Do you have advice for other government organizations?
Single sign-on is a must in a government job because we have access to so much data. It’s too easy for user IDs and passwords to be compromised if they’re not plugged into a single sign-on application. These organizations run the risk of employees writing their passwords down which is a big security risk.
The takeaway
The time-savings and security benefits of single sign-on aren’t limited to healthcare, as shown by Madera County DCSS. Government organizations handle highly sensitive information and are subject to strict rules and penalties for nonadherence. Single sign-on helps organizations comply with security regulations and has the power to save valuable time and reduce staff frustration. As Sarah points out, employees have an increasing number of tools to perform their jobs, but these become less effective with too many password requirements. This is evidenced by the fact that Madera County DCSS saves up to 45 minutes per day per employee with Enterprise Access Management.
Explore the full list of features and benefits to find out if Enterprise Access Management makes sense for you!
