The modern digital workplace is fragmented. Ten years ago, an employee might have logged into a computer and an email account. Today, that same employee requires access to a sprawling ecosystem of Software as a Service (SaaS) applications. They log into a CRM for sales, a platform for project management, a portal for HR benefits, and a separate tool for video conferencing.
This explosion of applications has created a security phenomenon known as “credential sprawl.” The average employee now manages dozens of unique login sets. Because human memory is finite, this inevitably leads to poor security hygiene. Employees reuse the same password across multiple accounts or write them down on sticky notes to keep track.
At Sundance Networks, we believe this is a massive liability. If a low-level application is breached and your employee reused that password for their company’s email, hackers could get the keys to your kingdom.
The solution is not to force employees to remember more passwords. The solution is to change the architecture of how they log in. Single Sign-On (SSO) moves your business away from scattered credentials and toward a centralized identity management strategy.
The “Master Key” Concept
To understand SSO, imagine an office building. In a traditional setup (without SSO), every room in the building has a different lock and requires a different physical key. An employee has to carry a heavy keyring, fumble for the right key at every door, and if they lose the keyring, you have to rekey every lock.
SSO acts like a modern electronic badge system. The employee has one high security badge (their primary Identity). They scan it at the front door to enter. Once inside, that same badge automatically grants them access to every room they are authorized to enter, without them ever having to take the badge out of their pocket again.
In digital terms, the user logs in once to a central Identity Provider (usually Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace). That identity then vouches for them. When they open Salesforce or Zoom, the application checks with the Identity Provider, confirms they’re logged in, and opens the door automatically.
Reducing the Attack Surface
The primary security argument for SSO is the reduction of the “attack surface.”
In a non-SSO environment, if you use 20 different applications, you have 20 different entry points where a hacker could try to brute force a password. You also have 20 different places where an employee might set a weak password.
With SSO, you reduce those 20 entry points down to one. While this might sound risky (putting all your eggs in one basket), it allows you to fortify that one basket heavily. You can focus all your security resources on protecting that single Identity Provider. You can enforce long, complex policies and rigorous monitoring on that one login, knowing that if it is secure, everything else is secure.
The Power of the “Kill Switch”
One of the greatest operational risks for a business is employee offboarding. When a staff member leaves the company, especially on bad terms, you must revoke their access to company data immediately.
Without SSO, this is a frantic race against the clock. IT administrators have to log into every single application separately to disable accounts. It is all too common for a manager to forget to remove an ex-employee from a third-party file sharing site or a marketing tool. This leaves a “ghost account” active, which the former employee can still access from home.
With SSO, offboarding is instantaneous. Because all apps rely on the central identity to grant access, the administrator only needs to disable the user in one place. The moment that central identity is disabled, the “badge” stops working for every door in the building. Access to email, files, and third-party apps is cut off simultaneously.
Enforcing Multi-Factor Authentication Universally
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is the gold standard for account security. However, not every software application supports it, and setting it up on 50 different apps is a logistical nightmare for users.
SSO solves this by applying MFA at the front door. Since the user must pass through the Identity Provider to get to their apps, you can enforce MFA on that initial login. This effectively wraps a layer of MFA protection around even older or less secure applications that do not support it natively. The user proves who they are once with their phone, and that trust is passed down the line.
FAQs
What if the main SSO account gets hacked?
This is the most common concern. If an attacker compromises the central identity, they technically have access to everything. This is why MFA is nonnegotiable with SSO. By protecting that single identity with a strong password, a mobile prompt, and conditional access policies, you make that account incredibly difficult to compromise.
Is SSO expensive to implement?
Historically, yes, but not anymore. If your business already uses Microsoft 365 (Business Premium) or Google Workspace, you likely already have the “Identity Provider” infrastructure included in your subscription. The cost is primarily in the labor to configure the connections between your apps, not necessarily in buying new software.
Does SSO work for every application?
Most modern business applications (SaaS) support SSO standards like SAML or OIDC. However, older legacy software or on-premise applications may not support it directly. In those cases, IT can often build bridges or use password vaulting tools to simulate the SSO experience.
How does this improve employee productivity?
It eliminates the friction of logging in. The average employee spends significant time every week typing in passwords or resetting forgotten ones. SSO removes these speed bumps. It also reduces help desk tickets related to password resets, freeing up your IT team to work on strategic projects.
Maturity in IT Operations
Moving to Single Sign-On is a sign of operational maturity. It shifts your business from a reactive stance, where you are constantly juggling credentials and worrying about weak links, to a proactive stance where identity is centralized and controlled.
It provides a better experience for your employees and a much harder target for cybercriminals. At Sundance, we specialize in configuring these identity environments. We help businesses integrate their disparate tools into a unified, secure ecosystem, ensuring that the right people have the right access at the right time.
