Authentication Solutions - By Role

IT System Administrator

Challenge

Because there are separate sets of credentials (typically 8-12) for accessing each of the various applications and servers that end-users must access to do their jobs, the IT staff is required to manage all the corresponding sets of password stores and user accounts, and coordinate the disparate password policies of these applications.

Most importantly, because end-users are juggling too many passwords, the frequency of forgotten passwords and calls to the Help Desk for password resets/recovery is very high.  About 30% of all Help Desk calls are regarding password resets and password-related issues.  Password reset/recovery can be time-consuming, especially if it involves the Notes ID password.  The Notes ID recovery process is complicated and requires the end-user to engage three Lotus Domino administrators to generate recovery strings, which are then used by the end-user to reset the password on their Notes ID.  

Managing passwords and addressing password issues consumes the IT staff’s time and resources and diminishes their productivity.  Time spent responding to password-related calls and to coordinate user accounts and password policies could be better spent dealing with more important matters in terms of security and compliance. 

Solution

PistolStar’s Password Power and PortalGuard enable end-users to employ their Active Directory password for accessing numerous enterprise applications, such as Lotus Domino and Notes, IBM WebSphere and System i, SAP and Oracle.  As a result, they have one password they need to remember to access all these applications, which greatly decreases the incidence of forgotten passwords and dramatically reduces calls to the Help Desk for password resets.

Both products also enable end-users to perform self-service password reset/recovery, freeing administrators of the time spent to complete the task and further contributing to the reduction in Help Desk calls.

By redirecting authentication to Active Directory, Password Power also effectively eliminates the headache of manual Notes ID password recovery by allowing the end-user to reset the Active Directory password to restore access to Lotus Notes.  No username mapping is performed as the end-user still uses the Notes ID to access Notes. 

With Active Directory as the central authentication point, the IT staff is able to centralize password management.  Administrators reduce the number of password stores and user accounts they need to oversee, and streamline and unify password policies.  Accordingly, they free up time they need to devote to more urgent IT security matters.