Rain Makers

MSP Helps to Solve Password Problem with New Solution

July 23, 2012 , 0 Frank Gurnee

Many of the best products in the IT space have been created by IT solution providers trying to solve a problem for their clients or their own business. Much of the recent news in the tech industry has placed a focus on password security. With high profile security breaches and password leaks by well-known companies such as Yahoo, Linked in, EHarmony, and Last.FM in the last few months, awareness around this increasing problem has been heightened.

A new company and product PASSPORTAL, has been developed for over a year to solve just this problem. Created by MSP company Xcel Professional Services; the product was developed to help manage and protect its own clients usernames and passwords. According to PASSPORTAL, unprotected client passwords have been identified as the #1 security risk for MSP’s.

The new industrial strength PASSPORTAL solution announced today, see (press release) below, provides a complete password management portal, allowing MSP’s to provide a much needed service to their clients. The solution provides a secure platform that tracks users, and allows solution providers restricted access for techs and end clients. This assures that when employees leave or access the system, they do not pose a security risk by taking unauthorized information.

The current risk is enormous, with many companies still keeping password information in unsecured text files or spreadsheets, the potential for a security breach or lawsuit is inevitable. PASSPORTAL is currently available as a channel partner program and pricing starts at $49 per month.

(PR)

(Calgary, AB – July 23, 2012) PASSPORTAL today announced a new industrial strength version of its password management solution designed for MSPs to manage their Client Passwords.

PASSPORTAL MSP is a completely hosted, cloud solution that allows MSPs to manage their portfolio of client passwords with a secure, affordable and easy to use application. The most recent version includes:

• The ability to set user/tech access for each client
• Password history and audit of changes and views
• Employee/tech exit procedures and workflow
• Comprehensive dashboard of stats, alerts and passwords requiring attention
• Active Directory integration with each client network
• Mobile Access on iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile devices

The product was initially developed at XCEL Professional Services, a mid-tier MSP who worried about protecting their client assets when one of their key tech’s left the company. They were approaching 50 clients and with almost 500 passwords to manage – it was a big problem.

“We called several MSPs in our peer group and asked how they stored client passwords.” said Colin Knox, CEO of XCEL and now PASSPORTAL. “We quickly found that none of them had a good solution. Most were embarrassed to tell us they still store client passwords in excel spreadsheets, word documents, in a homegrown access database or unprotected fields in their CRM system. “ Colin continued, “How could it be that something so important has such little security around it? That’s when we decided to build PASSPORTAL.”

PASSPORTAL MSP has now been in production for more than a year. Over 100 MSPs have signed up in the last few months and stored thousands of Passwords for Domain Admin, Firewall, Database, Public DNS, Spam Filters, VOIP, and other line of business applications.

Stuart Crawford, President of Ulistic and a thought leader on Managed Services spends much of his time coaching MSPs and discussing best practices. Stuart says “PASSPORTAL simply makes sense! Not using it in your MSP business or IT practice is like leaving your keys in the Door”.

Typically there’s no good way to know who has access or knows client passwords. Therefore if a tech leaves the MSP there’s a huge potential liability and security risk. With PASSPORTAL, access is tracked and restricted to a need-to-know basis.

Knox summed it up like this: “Why put your clients at risk when there’s such a secure, affordable and easy to use solution”. Pricing starts at just $49 per month for the MSP.

About PASSPORTAL MSP: Protecting your Client Passwords

PASSPORTAL is fast becoming the industry standard password management system for Managed Service Providers and IT consulting firms. Built by an MSP for MSPs, PASSPORTAL is among the growing number of companies who have built industrial strength tools to use in-house and then commercialized them for other MSPs. The cloud based product features 4 tiers of protection and encryption for passwords and is hosted in SAS70 certified data centers in Canada and the United States.

PASSPORTAL MSP is also the first in a family of password management tools that the company is developing.

If you are an MSP that is serious about the management and protection of your client passwords, go to www.PASSPORTALMSP.com and sign up today for your free trial.

Press Contact:

Bob Godgart ChannelEyes Consulting Services 518-469-2932 Bobg@ChannelEyes.com

Company Contact:

Colin Knox CEO, PASSPORTAL Inc. 1.888.870.7840 cknox@PASSPORTAL.it

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