If you’re not tech-minded and find yourself wondering, “what is single sign on”, don’t worry—you’re not alone.

Single sign on (SSO) is a simple way to log in to a variety of systems. Instead of having different usernames and passwords across the networks, SSO utilizes a central service that signs you in to a variety of applications. Much in the way that having a Google account allows you access to Gmail, Google+, YouTube and more, SSO allows employees to have the same user authentication for different systems required for the same job.  The great thing about SSO, the “secret sauce” if you will – is that it takes various software programs and apps from different vendors that normally wouldn’t work in unison the way Google does and it allows them to do so.  Meaning, you can use it on all tools, introduced to your repertoire of tools recently or in the distant pass and by any vendor and have a smooth, simple and secure login for all.

Small businesses that don’t have a large budget for IT yet still prioritize security find this solution cost effective.

There are plenty of reasons that switching to security software with SSO capability would benefit both employers and employees. For employees, single sign on solutions mean that there are much fewer passwords to remember. This increases employee productivity.

Single sign on solutions can reduce IT costs. Many of the calls an IT department receives are based on password resets. Without having to worry as much about this aspect, IT managers can focus on fixing other problems and keeping other software up to date.

While not revolutionary for larger companies that already employ this technology, the small to medium sized businesses that have not yet embraced this technology have a great opportunity to streamline logins, reduce costs and increase efficiency and productivity.  That’s a lot of upside.