Podcast Episode 12 Going Passwordless With Nelson Melo of Beyond Identity

Intro

In today’s episode, we are talking with a special guest, Nelson Melo. We will be discussing going passwordless. Specifically, we will be discussing how, combining an authentication service like Beyond Identity, and a Single Sign-On provider like Okta can take you and your whole company passwordless. For article clarity, the paragraphs in which Nelson Melo is speaking will have NM in the heading, and where Luis Lopez is spelling will have LL.

About Nelson Melo

Nelson Melo is a founding engineer at Beyond Identity. We met online through LinkedIn. After speaking with him, and salesman Erik Fischer, we were able to get The Freight Guru on their service to begin the transition away from passwords.

What Is Beyond Identity NM

Beyond Identity is an identity company. Our goal is to make the world passwordless. To do that, we start with companies like yours to help get rid of the major hurdles of internet security.

My Experience With Beyond Identity LL

SSO allows you to log into one platform and use that platform to log into multiple websites. Beyond Identity connects with the SSO and those websites to avoid a 2nd validation point and connect directly without a password. I went through the whole process, and I found it fascinating how quick and efficient it was.

How Beyond Identity Eliminates Passwords for Companies of All Sizes NM

Most people will know that when you are accessing a website, you ought to look for the little green lock in the browser. What we at Beyond Identity have done is accessed to that same technology going in the other direction. That has always been possible in the protocol, but we are just now taking advantage of it. That allows us to use the same technology that proves the website is legitimate to show that the user is legitimate.

Merging Technology With Transport LL

I agree that it makes sense for businesses of every size to make use of this tech. The transportation supply chain community, of which we are a part, has historically been outdated & fragmented. I like to say we are about 2–3 centuries behind the times, which is, of course, an exaggeration, but it is an issue. Currently, however, the transport industry is experiencing a renaissance. Mid to small businesses have gained the ability to use accounting software such as QuickBooks, message their employees via Slack, do payroll via Paylocity or ADP for payroll, and BambooHR for Human resources. However, all of these tools come with usernames and passwords.

Synergy Between Ease Of Use & Security NM

There has been long-standing tension between security and ease of use. While mandating passwords that use a score of mixed uppercase lowercase and special characters that change daily would undoubtedly be secure, it is wholly impractical. At the same time, a blank password that you use for everything would be massively practical that would be horribly insecure.

Eliminating Friction LL

I believe that everything is moving to less friction. Amazon has one-click buying and the ability to buy from a multitude of vendors from one account. Going passwordless would be the next step up from that.

The Range of SSOs NM

There are many systems out there for SSO from, very easy to implement cloud-based systems to extremely powerful with all sorts of nooks and crannies to explore & configure which depending on your organization’s size and IT team, may make more sense to go with one or the other.

What SSO We Use At The Freight Guru LL

We have elected to use Okta. I Researched ForgeRock and Microsoft Azure, and with Azure, I was very close because we already use it for Office 365, among other things. However, I believe that Okta is ahead of the game, not to mention their impeccable customer service.

What is the Long Term Goal of Beyond Identity NM

The long-term goal is to remove passwords everywhere. Right now, it starts with helping organizations of all sizes streamline their systems and remove their passwords.

Why I am excited about the future of SSO & Beyond Identity LL

I love the fact that even though our community is not tech-savvy, this relates to everyone. Whether you are a broker, shipper, or trucking company, we are all battling 15–20 usernames & passwords.

Beyond Identity Cost Structure NM

Several enterprise-level features are on a higher tier. That tier costs $6 per month per user regardless of how many devices each user has. A free tier has also been launched and, our founder was interviewed on CNBC as to why. The business model is to maximize adoption. It is based on his history as a founder of Netscape Navigator and the idea that user adoption can drive a business.

Our Experience Setting it Up LL

On our end, we went with the paid version as we wanted the extra features available. The support was exceptional, and within three days, we were fully up and running with full authentication access linked to the SSO. Our sales representative through the whole process was Eric Fischer, who you can reach at 724–5785. The sales team did an excellent job of getting us up and running and establishing best practices.

Our Support Philosophy NM

We have dealt with many different companies, from organizations with over 20k employees with a whole IT department to smaller organizations with a single IT person.

Cybersecurity In Trucking LL

I think it makes a lot of sense that you can scale quickly by offering a free tier and keeping it backed with your world-class support. That is especially the case when your onboarding procedure is so easy. I would like to cover another area that you are excelling in. Specifically, boosting cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is a big issue in the freight industry. Many brokers have had to deal with hacks.

SSO & Cybersecurity NM

I would say that by implementing an SSO, you can radically cut your cybersecurity risk, and make employees’ lives easier. It is immensely freeing not having to worry about passwords, it just works. Setting your apps up on the SSO is a good start, but you can do it to the next level and connect all of your accounts with Beyond Identity and not have to type anything to log in anywhere. Beyond Identity works with all four major SSO providers, Okta, PingIdentity, ForgeRock, and Microsoft Azure.

How Long it Took for Us LL

It was incredible how quickly we were able to get it done. With the SSO, it was very frustrating because it was a 3–6week process. However, the Beyond Identity authenticator was all done in under 2hrs.

Thank you for reading, and make sure to check out the full podcast available on our website! Or listen to the audio only version here.

The Freight Guru

ll@thefreightguru.io

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