LastPass Research Finds 92% of Businesses Believe Passwordless Authentication Is in Their Organization’s Future

Passwords have long been one of the leading drivers of security risks and employee frustrations for businesses, which has only increased since organizations transitioned to working remote. Passwordless authentication, on the other hand, securely connects employees to their work without the need to type a password through technologies such as biometric authentication, single sign-on and federated identity. Is passwordless authentication the solution to the password problem?

To find out, LastPass partnered with market research specialist Vanson Bourne to interview 750 IT and security professionals ranging from CIOs and CISOs, through to IT managers and analysts. The respondents were from a variety of private and public sectors, across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia and Singapore, and were from organizations with between 250 and 3,000 employees.

Today we are excited to release the findings from the research in our new report, From Passwords to Passwordless, which analyzes the current state of passwords today and whether passwordless authentication is a viable solution to help your organization determine the best path forward to addressing the password problem.

Passwords Continue to Be a Problem

The problem with passwords is an ongoing struggle. Last year, our study found the average organization spent 4 hours per week managing passwords – this year, the average organization is now spending 5 hours per week. That’s a 25% increase since 2019, and less time your team has to spend on value-driving initiatives for the business. But the good news is, organizations realize that passwords are a problem and 85% agree their organization should look to reduce the number of passwords used on a daily basis – the only question is how.

Businesses Realize the Benefits of Passwordless Authentication

Passwordless authentication enables employees to login to devices and applications without the need to type in a password, and can offer benefits for both employees and IT. The research found the benefits of deploying a passwordless authentication model are twofold – for the employee it largely eradicates the frustrations of using passwords and for the business it increases security. 65% agree that the biggest benefit of passwordless authentication for employees is quicker authentication, whereas 69% agree the benefit for IT is increased security.

Businesses Also See Potential Challenges with Passwordless Authentication

However, with potential benefits comes potential challenges. The top challenges of deploying a passwordless authentication model include the initial financial investment (43%), regulations on the storage of data (41%), and the time it would take to deploy such an authentication model (40%). Do the challenges outweigh the benefits, and is passwordless authentication a realistic solution to address the password problem?

The Verdict: Passwords or Passwordless?

92% of businesses see passwordless authentication in their organization’s future, however 85% of IT professionals don’t think passwords are going away completely. Are passwords and passwordless authentication mutually exclusive, or does there need to be a combination of password management and passwordless authentication to address the password problem?

Download the full report, From Passwords to Passwordless, for insights from businesses like yours on how passwords are being managed today, and to determine if passwordless authentication is the right solution to your organization’s password problem.