IT professionals like yourself understand the importance of credential security, including the incredibly high cost of doing nothing. However, you don’t have full control of the budget. To adopt a new tool like a standalone credential manager, you need approval from your manager and other decision makers who have many budgetary considerations to balance.
A key step in getting their buy-in is addressing their concerns about the value of a credential manager. Here are five common statements you may encounter, and how you could respond.
Concern #1: Our company isn’t a target for a cyberattack.
This is a common misconception, especially for smaller organizations. In reality, malicious actors often view small businesses as an easy mark due to their lack of security resources. Small organizations that provide products and services to large companies also could be targeted specifically as a way to gain access to their bigger customers.
At the same time, while bigger organizations typically have more robust security, they are often seen as worthwhile targets because they have large amounts of sensitive data that can be monetized or deeper pockets to pay ransoms.
It's worth noting that many attacks are simply opportunistic. For instance, a hacker might find an employee’s personal streaming-service password in a data dump on the dark web. If the employee reuses that password at work, the hacker can gain easy access to your corporate email and other systems.
Concern #2: A credential manager will disrupt workflows too much.
A good credential manager fits into existing workflows and can even streamline some steps. Dashlane, for example, integrates into existing workflows with features such as:
- SSO and SCIM integration that fits seamlessly into IT workflows to simplify user provisioning
- Credential Risk Detection that automatically surfaces risk intelligence for IT admins whether employees use a credential manager or not
- Nudges that automatically send employees personalized alerts about their credential risks through a familiar channel like Slack
- A user-friendly interface for employees that makes it easy to generate and autofill passwords, set preferences, and more
- A robust admin console so admins can easily monitor and manage their plan members' password security in one place
Here’s an example before and after scenario: Without a credential manager, employees who use shared accounts disclose passwords to their co-workers by writing them down on a note or emailing them. Both of these workflows are risky. With a credential manager, they can securely share credentials with just a few clicks—creating a faster and safer workflow.
Concern #3: Onboarding will take too much time and effort.
Onboarding employees to a new tool is not time-consuming or stressful when you implement a top-notch solution. The best credential managers offer customized messages inviting employees to join the app. These messages come from a trusted colleague and through a familiar channel.
Additionally, some credential managers enable easy data importing, simplifying the process of adding existing passwords into the new tool. These types of capabilities accelerate and simplify the onboarding phase for admins while making it easy to get started for employees.
Concern #4: Our employees will not adopt the new tool.
Although people may be resistant to change, factors like simple onboarding, an intuitive user interface, and a seamless user experience can ease their concerns, ensuring higher adoption rates. By choosing a credential manager that has these features, you’ll be able to demonstrate with confidence how your organization can remove the friction that contributes to low adoption.
Another critical factor is proactive communication and training. You can improve adoption rates by educating employees about things like the importance of good credential hygiene, the impact the new tool will have on security, the ease of use, and the benefits of the features.
“UX plays an integral role in employee adoption and solution administration. I disliked how hard it was to control access with some solutions that we considered. The Dashlane Admin Console offers a fantastic UX.”
—Shirley Liu, Chief of Staff to the COO at Finder
Concern #5: We’ll just have to wait for next year’s budget to prioritize it.
Cybercriminals aren’t waiting until next year. According to data from Microsoft researchers, there were more than 600 million identity-related attacks every day over the course of the past year—and more than 99% involved passwords.
Besides, while you wait to prioritize a credential manager in your budget, your employees are already using one anyway. But they’re not using the one you want, and most likely are relying on a browser-based one, which doesn’t have the same robust security features as a purpose-built solution.
By considering what questions decision makers will ask you about a credential manager and how you’ll respond, you’re well-positioned to build your case. However, there are other steps you’ll likely need to take to get buy-in.
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