Making the Business Case for Single Sign-On (SSO) Solutions

What’s Inside: This PowerPoint template will walk you through putting together the numbers you need to make a business case for Single Sign-On (SSO) in your organization The accompanying Excel Calculator is designed for simplicity: It befits a feasibility-level study; more complex analyses would require a more robust model It is based on cash flow, not P&L It has no macros All data and assumptions are to be entered on one tab, the other tabs are for display only

Show Current State 1. Input current state data Simply enter in values in the green boxes The fields in yellow will be calculated by the model

Show Project Costs 2. Enter the project costs and discount rate Estimate costs based on prior experience, market scan, or vendors’ indicative pricing Discount rate can be usually obtained from CFO group

Show Target State 3. Enter in target state benefits by year It is best to start with the last year, then back into how much of that benefit you’re likely to achieve by the end of each intervening year

Customize the Presentation 4. Customize the PowerPoint to fit your needs Review the numbers in your completed Excel spreadsheet then cut and paste the exhibits into this PowerPoint presentation Follow the format of presenting the current state, project costs, target state and investment analysis

Document Risks and Soft Benefits 5a. Include risks of implementing SSO A new single point of failure could lead to additional issues around denial of service or lack of availability A muffed implementation could lead to a rash of stolen credentials The project as scoped could overburden the enterprise’s physical infrastructure and network, and could also complicate n-factor authentication procedures There might be a certain amount of readiness work involved in getting legacy systems on board Care must be taken to consider regulatory requirements prior to going live with a new SSO platform 5b. Include soft benefits of SSO Vastly improved speed and ease of access would be transformational, but difficult to quantify

Make it Work 6. If you don’t like the answer, just change the assumptions You can always go back and change: Target state reduction projections and the forecast speed to attainment The discount rate you’ll receive Created by William Freedman @ITCaseMaker & Tom’s IT Pro @TomsITPro