We get asked this question a lot and the answer depends solely on the software/portal you’re linking to your Learning Management System (LMS).
There’s no doubt that having users sign in twice, once to the LMS and then again to the learning portal is a pain, especially if there are passwords involved. For that very reason customers are increasingly looking for single sign on or SSO.
Not every Supplier offers SSO yet – as it can involve a lot of development activity – potentially different each and every time you try to link it up with different LMS’s or software systems. There are, however, a few quick things you can do, which might help: –
- Most browsers will remember the log-in details so whilst your users may have to sign in twice at first, getting the browser to remember the URL and password will mean that next time around this area will be automatically populated and your users can simply press the return key. You should know that these details are held in cache and if that’s cleared for whatever reason your user will have to go through the set-up process again. In reality it’s an easy thing to do and perhaps a small price to pay if the software and content does all that you want it to do. You can also increase the amount of time a user stays signed in (which can help – although this may conflict against some internal security policies which look for systems to time out).
- Alternatively, you can have a word with your Supplier and ask them to see if the log-in could be modified for you, you never know this may well be something they have on the agenda to do and your call may just prompt them to get on with it now. SSO is appearing on a lot more technology roadmaps. It may even be possible for you to do the development work yourself, depending on your IT department
In the main the reason why your users may have to login separately to a Supplier’s portal is likely down to the fact they need to provide user validation for reporting and a mechanism for being able to send an email safely to the correct person in the event that they forget their passwords.
