Now that its on-premise authentication platform has been deployed at over 1,000 organizations, SecureAuth Corp. is looking to replicate its success in the cloud. The vendor launched a managed incarnation of the offering this morning that promises to help workers interact with web applications more safely.

SecureAuth Cloud Access supports about 8,000 software-as-a-service offerings and sites on launch, including everything from corporate staples like Office 365 to niche products that are only utilized in certain industries. Workers can use a single set of credentials across the entire lineup to avoid the hassle of managing multiple passwords. Alternatively, they have the option to store the login information for their various accounts in a so-called digital vault that is protected by their organizations’ IT personnel. SecureAuth says that the latter feature can be useful not only in the office but also for employees’ personal apps.

Meanwhile on the administrators’ end, the new service makes it possible to regulate how workers interact with applications based on their risk profile. If someone attempts to log into an executive’s Gmail inbox from a foreign country, for instance, then SecureAuth Cloud Access can automatically block the request. And it also provides visibility into users’ passwords to help organizations better identify vulnerable accounts that require extra protections.

SecureAuth’s broad feature set and proven track record in the on-premise authentication market should make the service appealing to CIOs, but it will still face an uphill battle. The cloud-based SSO market has over a dozen major players including Microsoft Corp. and other established software providers as well as startups like Okta Inc., which raised $75 million in funding last year. That the competition continues to intensify in such a well-saturated is a testament to the size of the revenue opportunity at hand.

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