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Security Best Practices for SaaS Businesses
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions are the fastest-growing sector in the IT industry. More and more companies choose SaaS due to the affordability and flexibility of the service delivery model and the need to shift to the ‘new-normal’ hybrid work, for which SaaS applications are well-suited. But what does increased SaaS adoption mean for authentication, authorization, and API security?
SaaS businesses must overcome significant challenges to ensure their customers and business partners are guaranteed secure and trouble-free access to applications. These hurdles include:
The issue of scalability
Handling thousands or sometimes millions of login requests
Operating across multiple regions and the need to comply with privacy regulations
The overriding need to protect and secure APIs that are a central component of all SaaS solutions.
Here we present you with the four best practices that SaaS companies should focus on to ensure the security of their solutions empowers their businesses. We also sum up our experience of helping our customers to implement them.
1. Secure All APIs
APIs are critical for modern SaaS solutions. But the greater the number of APIs, the more difficult it becomes to manage and protect them. That is why it is essential to implement security solutions to protect APIs and any endpoints that might be exposed. In this case, ad-hoc or patch solutions are insufficient. The key to securing APIs is to use a centralized OAuth server that is responsible for issuing tokens and handling claims.
This is where the Curity Identity Server excels with its unique combination of identity and access management and API security. With the Token Service, you can create a single security pattern for any APIs in, or that are added to, your existing architecture. In addition, you can design and customize tokens to suit your specific situations and use cases.
2. Deploy and Scale up on Your Terms
Quite often, software as a service businesses face the problem of deciding between the deployment options offered by IAM providers. Legacy systems might appear too inflexible to cater to the particular needs and use cases of SaaS companies. However, having freedom in making these decisions is crucial for the future.
The Curity Identity Server can be deployed in any environment and enables customers to make their own decisions regarding deployment and scale relevant to their business needs. A SaaS business is therefore not bound by inflexible legacy IAM systems and will find that the Curity Identity Server can easily fit into existing infrastructure, saving time and money. You don’t need to develop complicated ad-hoc solutions, and with Curity’s flat pricing, you don’t pay for every new customer request or enterprise connection.
> Explore how you can get started with deployment here.
3. Multi-Region Deployment and Compliance
By the very nature of the business model, SaaS companies have global customer bases with users logging in everywhere, 24/7. With that reality comes the challenge of meeting local regulations and compliance requirements.
Our customers use the flexibility of the Curity Identity Server deployment and clustering architecture to overcome this complex problem and ensure they have a globally compliant business.
4. Centralized Identity Management
With the huge number of users accessing your SaaS, it is crucial to establish a system that will allow you to centrally manage identities. Moreover, it is essential to ensure that everyone logging in and engaging with your product — customers, partners, or end-users — have consistent and smooth login experiences.
The Curity Identity Server provides the foundation to build a shared layer for different regions, brands or services and create a centralized identity system that integrates with various components of your system. Rolling out new initiatives is far less complex and faster with this centralized approach.
For further information on protecting APIs, deployment, and how Curity can help to secure your SaaS solution, have a look at these resources:
