The John Lewis Partnership has signed a deal with SecurEnvoy to enable its workforce to use their mobile phones to gain secure access to corporate systems. 15,000 thousand UK employees are now using SecurAccess, SecurEnvoyís cost-effective, two-factor authentication solution that transforms mobile phones into virtual tokens.
Instead of using tokens or smart cards, the SecurAccess system sends a passcode to usersí mobile phones. When users wish to log on to the corporate system, they simply enter their Microsoft User ID and password, and then the passcode that has been pre-enabled on their mobile phone. Once the passcode has been used, it is superseded with a new one sent to the phone. This pre-loading function eliminates the need to install any software on to the mobile device and provides users with access to their passcode as soon as they needed it rather than having to wait for an SMS message to be delivered.
John Lewis expects to make considerable savings by swapping from token-based two-factor authentication to SecurAccess. The user license is cheaper than purchasing, replacing and distributing tokens, and deployment costs are lower with no need for extensive training courses.
ìThe John Lewis Partnership has been using traditional token based two factor authentication with its remote access systems since the late 1990ís. However, after reviewing the capital, revenue and administration costs associated with the existing system we decided to look for a cheaper alternative and found SecurEnvoyís tokenless approach to be a far superior and cost effective solution,î says Matthew Clements, principal programmer for the John Lewis Partnership.
ìThe flexibility, efficiency and additional security of using mobile phones and SMS offer clear advantages over traditional methods of two factor authentication,î says Steve Watts, UK sales director for SecurEnvoy. ìCustomers such as John Lewis continue to choose SecurEnvoy for our speed of deployment, cost per seat model, unlimited scalability and proven track record.î
John Lewis Partnership secures 15,000 staff with SecurEnvoy
Renowned high street retailer implements SecurEnvoyís solution for remote authentication using mobile phones
