Single Sign-On Customers Report Technology a Great Value

    OREM, UT, December 21, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Although single sign-on (SSO) satisfaction scores continue to outperform many other market segments, scores have decreased somewhat over the past two years due to unforeseen complexities with SSO systems, according to new KLAS report "Single Sign-On: To Identity Management and Beyond."

"SSO vendors have had a difficult time keeping up with providers' expectations over the last couple of years," stated Paul Pitcher, KLAS director of research and author of the report. "Integration and system complexity are creating greater disruptions than customers expected. However, the majority of those who have implemented SSO and context management believe these technologies to be worth the investment."

The report notes that some SSO ratings might be a reflection of the hardware used for strong factor authentication, i.e. biometrics, proximity cards, and smart cards. Difficulty getting biometric products to work as needed has many providers learning toward proximity tools, according to the report.

"While biometrics are still heavily in use, organizations are trending towards proximity devices. These allow for consolidation of services onto one card to provide facilities access, identification and/or time and attendance along with SSO authentication," Pitcher commented.

Merger and acquisition activity is reframing the SSO market. IBM bought Encentuate in 2008, and Microsoft acquired Sentillion at the end of 2009. Oracle has acquired Passlogix. Most recently announced is the Novell acquisition by Attachmate.

Despite a slight decline in SSO customer satisfaction ratings over the past two years, providers generally report the technology to be a valuable purchase, especially related to workflow simplification. In the words of a provider, "When a physician can get more work done and cut down on steps, it is a good day."

In "Single Sign-On: To Identity Management and Beyond," Imprivata took the lead with a score of 83.6 out of 100, followed by Microsoft (83.2) and HealthCast (82.4). Carefx and Novell are also highlighted in this report. Addendum information is included for IBM, Passlogix and FairWarning.

For more information about the SSO market, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of participating vendors, "Single Sign-On: To Identity Management and Beyond" is available to healthcare providers online for a significant discount off the standard retail price. To purchase the full report, healthcare providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com/reports.

KLAS is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of healthcare vendors. KLAS' mission is to improve delivery, by independently measuring vendor performance for the benefit of our healthcare provider partners, consultants, investors, and vendors. Working together with executives from over 4500 hospitals and over 2500 clinics, KLAS delivers timely reports, trends, and statistics, which provide a solid overview of vendor performance in the industry. KLAS measures performance of software, professional services, and medical equipment vendors. For more information, go to www.KLASresearch.com, email [email protected], or call 1-800-920-4109 to speak with a KLAS representative. Follow KLAS on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KLASresearch.

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