{"id":65631,"date":"2023-07-12T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/?p=65631"},"modified":"2024-04-22T22:17:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T02:17:23","slug":"password-reset-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/blog\/password-reset-cost","title":{"rendered":"How Much Does a Password Reset Cost Your Company?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Password resets are a nuisance for everyone\u4e00but especially for IT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remembering tens, even hundreds of passwords for multiple platforms and devices leads to password fatigue<\/a> for employees and only adds to the list of IT problems to solve. Unfortunately, this trend has only gotten worse with the rise of remote work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, 50% of all help desk calls<\/a> are for password resets. And the worst part is that password resets aren\u2019t just tedious; they\u2019re costly. Forrester Research found that the average password reset cost is upwards of $70<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiply that by the number of employees at a large organization, and even one password reset each becomes a staggering figure. But why is that the case?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this piece, we\u2019ll do a deep dive into password resets: why users need them, how much they cost, and how single sign-on (SSO) password managers<\/a> can reduce costs and alleviate the mounting pressure on your IT team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Do Users Need Password Resets?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While this seems like a straightforward question, password resets aren\u2019t always a result of someone forgetting their password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some employees may use multiple workstations or mobile phones. If applications on those devices use old cached credentials, a user\u2019s account may automatically be locked on all of their systems, requiring a password reset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windows task schedulers can also prompt password resets<\/a>. Tasks are created with user-specified credentials, which eventually expire. If they\u2019re not replaced with new credentials, users will be locked out of their accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other times, password resets are a forced exercise. Many companies use password rotation<\/a>, prompting users to change their passwords every 30 to 90 days. The amount of effort required for the execution of this task varies greatly depending on the password management solution in place, and the number and type of IT resources secured by user passwords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Much Do Password Resets Cost?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although a password reset may seem quick and easy, the compound effect of thousands of resets can make a company\u2019s IT costs skyrocket. The following are just a few of the factors that affect how much password resets can truly cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increased labor and lost time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first step in initiating a reset involves verifying a user\u2019s identity. This sounds easy, but checking this manually can take time and frustrate employees. Once a user\u2019s identity is confirmed, IT may have to log into several tools to change the user\u2019s password. During that process, end users are stuck and unable to complete any work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Infrastructure maintenance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many large organizations use interconnected legacy systems that make changing passwords extremely cumbersome. Many of these systems do not sync with each other, nor do they have the same cadence for updates, which means that IT must manually change passwords in multiple places multiple times a year. The upkeep of these platforms can be time-intensive, but it is essential to maintain an organization\u2019s overall security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potential breaches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While forced resets are meant to fend off cyberattacks, password rotation can be ineffective unless implemented with other password management best practices<\/a> in mind. Most users just add another number or character onto an existing password used for all of their devices, making it easy for savvy hackers to guess it. And cyberattacks can have so many consequences<\/a>, from reputation damage to customer churn to loss of future business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Much Does a Password Manager Cost?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A password manager streamlines the very manual aspects of a password reset while mitigating the risk of an attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, not all password managers bring the same features to the table, which makes for a fairly wide range in price. It\u2019s important to focus on the ROI. The best centralized password managers<\/a> come with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n