Get the recognition you deserve! Enter by January 7, 2011 PRINT VERSION
Finally a chance for some recognition on the work you put into building your Benergy sites! Benergy Interworks is accepting submissions for the 2011 Benergy Builder Awards Program. This is your opportunity to be rewarded for the creativity and innovative thinking that led to the creation and utilization of your outstanding Benergy sites.
Winners will be recognized in the following four categories: Best Overall, Most Innovative, Most Creative, and HR Excellence.
We have lined up judges from SHRM, Employee Benefit News, Benefits Selling magazine, the Arketi Group, and A.D.A.M. to review the award entries. The judges are excited to see the excellent Benergy sites our customers are creating. They have also signed a confidentiality agreement that they will not share information from the entries with any third parties.
For more information and to submit entries, go to benergybuilderawards.com or contact your client relationship manager. All entries must be received by January 7, 2011.
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The X's and O's of SSO PRINT VERSION By John Lamb
Senior Vice President and General Manager, Benergy Interworks Employee Benefit Advisor, December 2010
Even if you're not a sports fan, you're probably familiar with the image of a coach and a clipboard. Using X's and O's to depict the players on their clipboard, coaches can communicate a plan to their team.
Like any good coach, you too need to understand the X's and O's of an important concept - "Single Sign On" - so you can properly communicate and advise your clients on the strategy and benefits of this important and ever evolving technology.
You need to become conversant in why passwords are important, the fact that corporate security and personal employee information are key drivers, and how the pieces fit together. Doing so puts the coach's clipboard in your hands.
Password overload
In today's Internet world we can all relate to trying to keep track of multiple user IDs and passwords needed to access multiple sites like bank accounts, bill pay, social networks, etc.
A Microsoft research report published in 2007 stated that Internet users have an average of 6.5 passwords and access an average of 25 accounts. (The report also showed that people use the same password for multiple accounts.) And this is just for personal accounts - our jobs require a whole other set of application login credentials.
With the advent of online benefits, employees have even more logins to deal with - portals for plan comparison, for online enrollment, for access to FSAs, 401(k) accounts, personal health records and more.
Password administration is one of the top IT items involving requests for assistance from employees. HR administrators and IT support are overwhelmed with supporting these systems.
Passwords are the most common method used to meet security requirements for online systems. Highly secure environments often utilize physical access controls such as biometrics or smart cards, but those environments are beyond the scope of this discussion.
Best practices for password management of online accounts continue to evolve. Common sense rules like "don't put passwords on sticky notes on your computer" and "don't use easy-to-guess names" (like the names of pets, chlidren's birthdays or wedding anniversary dates) are well known. Password expiration (typically 90 days), password strength requirements, and limitations on the number of login attempts are becoming standard fare of corporate software security.
Increasing standards
Adoption of more restrictive standards is being driven in part by HR departments' increasing concern about the sensitivity of personally identifying information and personal health information. Regulatory requirements like HIPAA continue to drive requirements for control over access to and transmission of both PII and PHI.
Ultimately, HR has to balance security requirements with ease of use of corporate systems by employees - policy versus productivity. Fortunately, SSO helps with both needs.
SSO to the rescue
Simply stated, SSO authenticates a user (employee) one time and then allows that authentication to be shared among the applications an employee needs access to. SSO is shared authentication among independent applications.
Authentication is done at the technology level and therefore it is transparent to the user. This eliminates the need for an employee to remember all their user IDs and passwords and significantly reduces the administrative burden on HR. Moreover, corporate security is actually enhanced.
SSO lends itself nicely to the "what and how" model of technology solutions. In this model the focus is on "what" users want, not on "how" IT is going to build it.
Given this reality, perhaps the best way to understand SSO is from the perspective of an employee or other individual - that is, what will the solution look like to the people who will actually use it?
Visual connection
The diagram below illustrates the SSO concept. First, visualize the diagram without any arrows. In this scenario, employees have to remember their credentials for a total of five different applications (not to mention the separate URLs) - corporate network (company Intranet), benefits portal, pay stub, flex spending and 401(k). Of course, there are other applications like HSAs and HRAs, but you get the idea.
The arrows in the diagram represent SSO connectivity. So, for example, an employee begins her day by logging into the corporate network, which gives her access to the company Intranet.
From the company Intranet portal, a secure link grants her access to her personal benefits portal. The benefits portal, in turn, provides access to her pay stub and FSA and 401(k) accounts. No additional logins are required.
Of course, there are different ways to draw this diagram depending on the needs of a given employer. Maybe there isn't a company Intranet or the company doesn't have the IT resources to work on SSO. Either way, in this case the benefits portal becomes the initial entry point for employees.
Leverage what you've got
One of the key benefits of SSO is that it allows employers to leverage their existing technology. They shouldn't have to switch applications or systems to implement SSO and are free to select best-in-class applications (and related services) for the systems HR provides employees. And when an employer decides to switch or upgrade applications, SSO should be high on the list of capabilities of any potential new vendor.
Shared authentication projects are not difficult or expensive, but they do require the various systems to be integrated at the technology level.
In an SSO implementation, the technology details fall to the different vendors, so communication among the IT groups is paramount. Fortunately, standards have evolved around SSO that include the usual array of acronyms - SAML, OpenID, OTP Tokens, etc.
Employers might require the use of a specific technology, but often these are based on industry standards and are easily accommodated.
Beneficial to all
The benefits of SSO to employers are significant - improved adherence to security policy, reduced administrative overhead and empowered employees. Any time an employer can leverage existing technology, the value of each application increases.
Why should brokers care? Because becoming an SSO coach is another step in becoming a true consultant and trusted adviser. Helping to broker SSO solutions for your clients puts you in a position to guide and advise, maybe even provide all of the benefits employers need.
Meet Your Client Services Team PRINT VERSION
Debra Blalock Team Lead, Client Relationship Manager Benergy Interworks
Debra Blalock is the Client Relationship Manager for the Southeast and oversees the entire Client Relationship Management team for Benergy Interworks. Debra has more than 10 years of experience in HR, employee benefits, HR systems, and alliance channels. She has experience with direct employers, carrier relationships, and broker partners and has worked in the capacity of sales, solution selling, and client management.
Debra grew up in Georgia with strong family roots in the mountains of North Carolina. She has lived in Atlanta for 12 years and is actively involved in her historic community’s civic association. In her free time he enjoys live music and is a group fitness boot camp instructor.
If you have any questions about the Client Relationship Management team, please contact us at benergymarketing@adam.com or 1-800-475-4041.
Quick Tip PRINT VERSION
Are you a new Benergy user and would like New User Training? Please follow these steps to request your training via email:
A member of the Benergy Interworks team will get back in touch with you to coordinate training.