Single Sign-On and Virtual Directories: A Match Made in Heaven

Single sign-on (SSO) alone is not enough to deliver a unified customer experience. This becomes more apparent as companies attempt to implement cross application SSO for disparate sets of users. SSO falls short as companies expand beyond a defined set of internal-only users into cross business unit applications and especially for applications geared towards external users. While SSO tools allow companies to interweave applications running on disparate platforms into complex mashups presenting a unified view of information, they often lack the mechanism to relate users across the systems. Enter the virtual directory server. By combining the power of SSO with the abilities of a virtual directory server to correlate user information based upon complex matching rules, companies gain a unique ability to easily bring together applications while reducing integration costs and time to market.