ABN Amro signs up for strong authentication

Dutch banking giant ABN Amro has signed a deal with ActivIdentity for stronger identity and access management across the enterprise.

The secure single sign-on service will be rolled out for 100,000 staff globally across locations in Benelux, Brazil, India, Singapore and the UK.

Marc Hudavert, general manager of ActivIdentity, told silicon.com the deal is indicative of a general move towards stronger authentication in the financial services sector.

He added that the company took added satisfaction from beating industry giant RSA to the contract, though he admitted much of the headway RSA has made in promoting the use of stronger authentication has helped to create the market in which ActivIdentity operates.

Hudavert said: "Most of our customers have been using RSA two-factor authentication tokens. So, when we approach a customer we know they have experience of two-factor authentication and they also have the budget to pay for the RSA tokens," he added, explaining that the sell is becoming easier as more businesses realise the need for strong authentication.

However, while Tim Pickard, EMEA marketing director at RSA, admitted RSA was beaten to the signature on that particular ABN Amro contract, he said it isn't cause for too much concern.

Pickard told silicon.com: "I really don't think they can claim victory having picked up one part of a huge global account."

The deal represents a second major win for ActivIdentity in recent times. Hudavert told silicon.com the company has also recently signed a deal with consulting giant Deloitte to provide secure authentication for employees and contractors.

Discussing the fact many businesses must balance security with a need to enable staff to work effectively, remotely and across multiple locations, Hudavert said: "Strong authentication is particularly important for people working on the client side."