Forms Live launches SSO with Microsoft and Google

Last night, we turned on the most secure sign-on solutions in the market, using the Microsoft technologies offered for 365, and Entra-ID (formerly Azure), plus Google Workspace (formerly G Suite).

Single Sign-On (SSO) has been a critical focus globally for both Microsoft and Google because of its user benefits and additional security features – and we are delighted to be able to offer their solutions for our Forms Live clients.

Here are the key advantages:

You no longer need a separate username/password to access Forms Live. You can use either your Microsoft or Google sign-on details.
Secure access to Forms Live has never been easier. We have buttons – one for Microsoft and one for Google – that allow you to enter Forms Live platform securely.
The security of your account is genuinely world-class, created and supported by two global technology leaders.

For agency principals, Microsoft and Google’s SSO offerings deliver world’s best practice security structures. And both are designed to simplify IT management of your internal systems and security network.

Let’s provide some context for what this all means.

SSO continues to be a major focus in enterprise technology because of the ever-evolving, global security threats every organisation faces. Real estate has been identified as specifically vulnerable and is increasingly being targeted by scammers and bad actors.

IT security has become increasingly sophisticated in its response. Both Microsoft and Google offer multi-factor authentication and a host of other security layers, such as hybrid access for those who might need to log-on at the office and remotely.

The solutions also feature Privileged Identity Management, which means you can either restrict or provide individual staff with access to confidential documents.

Microsoft, whose solution has been renamed Entra-ID from Azure Active Directory, also allows you to ban passwords that might be easy to crack – like, “GoCrows”. And you’re able to enforce your own smart lock-out environment, too.

SSO is an integral part of each company’s Research & Development (R&D) budget. And the amount they spend is eye-watering.

The R&D allocation of Google’s parent company Alphabet on security was a staggering US$48.323 billion for the year to September 30. This represents a 10.88% increase year-over-year. Microsoft's R&D expenses were US$30.395 billion over the same period – an 11.64% increase.

While figures for SSO investment by either company are unavailable, it's safe to say Microsoft and Google are committed to providing robust and secure SSO solutions as part of their broader identity and access management strategy. Each company’s regular software updates for their respective SSO solutions are proof of that.

For Forms Live clients, you will continue to receive the benefit of R&D investments from all our partners, who offer not just SSO but also services ranging from CRM integrations to digital signing and Verification of Identity (VoI) technology.

We believe this week’s Single Sign-On upgrade is a major enhancement for all Forms Live clients, and it will contribute to the goal of reducing agency IT costs.

For those unable to capitalise on SSO at this stage, you can still log in securely using Multi-Factor Authentication provided by Microsoft and Google. See here for details.

Here’s a summary of the overall benefits of adopting SSO:

Improved User Experience

Simplified Access: Users can access Forms Live with a single login, eliminating the need to remember multiple a second username and password.
Increased Productivity: Less time spent logging in means more time for productive work.
Seamless Access: SSO provides a smooth and consistent login experience across different applications and devices – an environment in which Forms Live will be included.

Enhanced Security

Reduced Password Fatigue: Users only need to remember one set of credentials, reducing the risk of weak or reused passwords.
Stronger Authentication: Both providers support multi-factor authentication (MFA), adding an extra layer of security.
Reduced Risk: By consolidating authentication, SSO minimises the number of potential entry points for attackers. IT security guys call this “reducing your attack surface”.

Streamlined Administration

Centralised Control: Administrators have centralised control over user access and permissions, making it easier to manage security policies and respond to threats.
Simplified Onboarding/Offboarding: Automating user provisioning and de-provisioning simplifies onboarding new employees and offboarding departing employees.
Reduced IT Support: Fewer password resets and login issues reduces the burden on IT support teams.

Cost Savings

Reduced Password Resets: Fewer password-related issues translate to cost savings for IT support.

If you need assistance with the new single sign-on feature, or with any other element of the Forms Live platform, please do not hesitate to contact us.