4 Key Benefits of Password Vault Solutions

Managed services providers (MSPs) tend to have a strong grasp of the ideal cybersecurity best practices their customers should adhere to, but actually enforcing them is a challenge unto itself. From helping customers understand the use cases for VPNs to detailing specific BYOD policies, a lot goes into making today’s digitally driven businesses safe and secure when operating online. And while many of these dos and don’ts are readily enforceable, others aren’t quite so simple.

This is especially true when it comes to password management. Employees across your customers’ teams may comprehend the ins and outs of best practices for setting, managing, and updating their credentials, but that doesn’t always mean they translate those best practices into digitally savvy actions. With Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report noting that over 80% of breaches involve the use of brute force or compromised security credentials, it’s clear that all businesses could be doing more when it comes to password management.

So how can MSPs help their customers stay safe? By investing in a cloud-based password manager and password vault, it’s possible for IT technicians and cybersecurity experts to support teams with sophisticated security technology. With tools specifically designed to craft strong passwords—and safeguard these passwords with granular access control in an encrypted password vault—both MSPs and their customers can reap the benefits.

What is a password vault?

A password vault is a key component of any good password management system. Password management systems provide MSPs with a range of IT tools necessary to support customers, strengthen credentials, and deploy them effectively across their organizations. A password vault helps safely store credentials and streamline access to them, enabling IT professionals to get end users the information they need faster.

Password vaults continue to become increasingly necessary, especially as the number of access points utilized throughout organizations grows by leaps and bounds. Indeed, as employees enjoy a greater diversity of ways to access enterprise networks—personal computers, smartphones, and more—and as companies invest in a wider array of digital tools, teams have more and more passwords to manage.

With a password vault, this wealth of user information is stored and organized in a way that connects employees with the information they need, when they need it. Having a protected, centralized database of user credentials allows IT experts to resolve forgotten password tickets quickly, monitor which credentials are in need of updates, and streamline the compliance and reporting processes to help ensure teams are honoring cybersecurity best practices.

If you’re researching platforms that can help you keep your MSP customers protected, consider investing in a password vault solution and a larger cloud-based password manager. While the perfect solution for you might depend on the customers you work with, the scope of your needs, and other such variables, MSPs can all benefit from a more streamlined approach to password management. In fact, with the right password vault at their fingertips, your technicians can manage a critical component of your customers’ cybersecurity strategies from a single, easy-to-use console.

Are password vaults safe?

While the security of password vault solutions will also differ from one provider to the next, the most sophisticated password vaults are safe to use for any size and type of business. Teams should no longer have any excuse to rely on poorly protected spreadsheets or other shortcuts to organize and secure valuable and sensitive credentials. With the leading password management systems, MSPs can store passwords in an encrypted vault that use robust cybersecurity practices to protect mission-critical credentials from a wide range of threats.

With a protected password vault, MSPs can help their customers safeguard credentials from both external bad actors and internal unauthorized access. In the context of robust password management tools, password vaults allow granular access controls to be set so that only those with clear-cut needs will be privy to organizational passwords. By doing so, password vaults act as protection against both cybercriminals attempting to steal information and internal breaches that accidentally expose sensitive information.

Beyond the specific practices used to protect password vaults, investing in a solution that is designed to be secure also helps increase organizational safety. Because team members won’t have to rely on their memory alone to remember passwords, they can use more complex credentials that will make it harder for bad actors to force their way into their accounts. These tools also make it easier to use a unique password for each account, alleviating the compromising habit of reusing passwords across multiple platforms.

Which password vaults should you invest in?

Password vaults promise MSPs a comprehensive way to deliver better organizational security to their customers. However, realizing the value of password management systems more broadly depends on finding a solution that fits your needs, the needs of your customers, and your particular standards for cybersecurity best practices. Only by investing in a password vault and password management tool that checks off all these boxes will you be able to deliver the kind of service your customers expect.

With N‑able^® Passportal, MSPs can provide their partners with award-winning password management, including an encrypted password vault and an IT documentation management tool. Passportal empowers your IT experts to organize, manage, and protect customer credentials with ease—all from a centralized platform with an intuitive user interface. From day-to-day credential management to regular auditing and optional add-ons like a self-service password reset tool, Passportal gives MSPs the capabilities they need to help customers take a more proactive—and responsible—approach to organizational cybersecurity.