BIO-key Extends PortalGuard Coverage With New SSO Concierge

BIO-key has upgraded PortalGuard to provide organizations with more comprehensive Single Sign-on (SSO) capabilities. The new SSO Concierge feature is specifically geared toward thick client applications that exist outside of the rest of an organization’s cloud infrastructure.

The problem, according to BIO-key, is that many thick applications draw on independent identity records that are distinct from those that are used for the cloud. As a result, those applications are not compatible with federated identity and access management systems. That means that employees still need to perform a separate login in order to gain access to those thick applications, even if the organization has enabled SSO for its other cloud apps.

Those separate sign-ons are inconvenient because they force employees to keep track of another set of passwords and login credentials. They also create more work for IT departments that need to ensure that thick applications are still protected with Zero Trust security measures, especially since those applications are often used for critical workplace functions.

The SSO Concierge, on the other hand, can essentially act as an emissary for the user. In that regard, it will send proper authentication credentials to the thick client application once the user has completed the passwordless PortalGuard authentication process, and consolidate all of an organization’s core functions under a single identity umbrella.

“Our customers don’t want their users frustrated with disjointed authentication solutions that leave key applications as unprotected one-offs,” said BIO-key Chairman and CEO Michael DePasquale. “Our focus with PortalGuard is to provide the flexibility and options that modern enterprises require in a single, secure and unified solution.”

The Concierge arrives roughly one month after BIO-key introduced a new PalmPositive authentication feature. The full PortalGuard IDaaS platform offers support for 16 multi-factor authentication options, and has proven to be popular with academic institutions and government agencies, amongst other organizations.

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June 23, 2021 – by Eric Weiss