Enterprise Password Management

Companies should use a password manager because password managers make it easy for employees to create, manage, and store strong and unique passwords and passkeys. Strong credentials give companies an extra layer of protection against data breaches because strong credentials, when coupled with two-factor authentication (2FA), are much harder to steal.

An enterprise password vault is the password storage repository (think of it as the backbone of a password manager) that is managed by an enterprise and shared with enterprise employees.

Enterprises may choose to manage passwords through a number of methods. They might try to memorize them, write them down on a piece of paper, save them in documents stored on a computer, verbally share them, or share them through a messaging app. All of these common methods for managing passwords are insecure, which is why enterprises should manage passwords through an enterprise password manager. An enterprise password manager is a centralized system used to create, manage, and store passwords.

A password vault works by storing and centralizing credentials. These credentials may include usernames, passwords, logins, company credit cards, secure text items, or other sensitive data. This critical information is encrypted in the password vault and can only be decrypted when a user logs in using the master password.

In the enterprise world, single sign-on (SSO) is a popular method for securing credentials. Single-click access, which reduces the number of employee login IDs and passwords, improves the user experience, and accelerates productivity by cutting down on the time employees spend logging in. Recognizing the benefits of SSO, Bitwarden enables enterprises to integrate SSO technology with the Bitwarden Password Manager. 

Whether you deploy Bitwarden in the cloud or on-premises, enterprise users have the option of using SSO with trusted devices, which involves users registering and confirming trusted devices that are then authenticated with SSO. From there, users are able to access encrypted vault data without needing a Bitwarden password. 

Another option is Login with SSO, which relies on the SSO provider for authentication only. The user then provides their Bitwarden master password to decrypt their data. This is the simplest option for enterprises that wish to use SSO. 

Login with SSO works with enterprise password management on-premise and in the cloud, as long as the enterprise identity server is reachable from the instance.