Centrify appoints "number one Office 365 partner" Paradyne

US-based identity management company Centrify has enlisted Paradyne to introduce its first pure cloud-based solution to Australia.

Centrify regional director Matt Ramsay told CRN the growing demand for software-as-a-service solutions prompted the Australian launch.

"Cloud is evolving here in Australia. We're running into quite a few enterprises and businesses that are looking at Office 365 and other cloud-based applications."

Paradyne specialises in the deployment and integration of Microsoft cloud products, especially. The company won an Microsoft Australia Partner Award for its Office Deployment Accelerator.

[Photos: Microsoft Australia Partner Awards]

"The reason we signed a partnership with Paradyne is because they are the number one Office 365 partner with Microsoft," Ramsay said.

This new relationship, which is being announced today at the Microsoft TechEd conference in Queensland, will make it possible for a user to access any enterprise cloud-based application from one Microsoft Active Directory credential.

"We provide for a single sign-on no matter where you go, whether it is Salesforce or Google Apps, we bridge the authentication."

Ramsay recognised having one master username and password for a range of enterprise apps could be risky if it's ever compromised.

"This does introduce a single point of failure, but we feel the benefits outweigh the risks.

"From an IT business standpoint, what happens if you leave the organisation? We now have to make sure we disable you from Salesforce, WebEx etc. If it's all within Active Directory we can disable you from one place," said Ramsay.

"You can make one change and everywhere it's changed. That's part of the operational efficiency."

Ramsay claimed it was easily scalable to accommodate employees from 10 to 10,000.

Centrify is already working with Paradyne to roll out the solution to customers, though Ramsay declined to reveal the identities.

"One of them is an educational unit and one of them is a government unit. And there are quite a few enterprise businesses too."

Following the Australian launch, Centrify will be looking for more partners in New Zealand and Australia.