Comments on Startup Professionals Musings: Single Sign-on Startup Opportunity Has Passed

Nice article, Marty. I recently wrote an article ...

2010-06-03T14:41:25.765-07:00

Nice article, Marty.
I recently wrote an article that documents some pros and cons of OAuth, and why we finally decided against implementing OpenID authentication for our own authentication process.

Keep up the good work!

LastPass is the solution.

2010-06-01T10:29:06.646-07:00

LastPass is the solution.

@Arsen, thanks for your positive feedback, and a g...

2010-05-31T09:42:13.972-07:00

@Arsen, thanks for your positive feedback, and a good overview of Mitto. I need to take a hard look at this one.

@Anonymous, for some other opportunities for start...

2010-05-31T09:40:56.549-07:00

@Anonymous, for some other opportunities for startups, see http://blog.startupprofessionals.com/2009/09/7-most-underrated-businesses.html

Hi Marty, I’m a big fan of your blog, and read it...

2010-05-30T15:38:09.632-07:00

Hi Marty,

I’m a big fan of your blog, and read it daily. I was excited that my startup, Mitto (http://mitto.com), was referenced in today’s post, even though not with complete accuracy. I wanted to clarify that Mitto is an online password manager. Nothing is stored on your local computer, and your credentials are stored securely encrypted in the “cloud” (SaaS), making them accessible securely from anywhere.

I have to disagree that the opportunity for a single sign-on startup has passed. I’ll provide a few key points here to make my case as to why startups like Mitto (a free secure and easy to use online password manager) address a market need with growing demand.

1. People want access to their passwords from everywhere. Internet users often use more than one computer to go online (home, work, school, etc.). Because we are an online password manager, this means that you can always have access to your most up-to-date passwords on your laptop, your desktop at home, or any other computer without needing to synchronize or make backups. This is where traditional password management solutions fall short.

2. Users want a solution that works with all their passwords. Mitto works with any website (we have thousands you can easily search for & add, but adding your own is easy), and doesn’t require special integration to automatically log you in. You can watch this short video showing how easy it is to use our Mitto Bookmarklet to log you into your sites. Although it has been implemented by many sites, OpenID can never fully solve the password problem for the average user because most sites can not (don’t have the technical expertise) or will not (don’t want to) implement OpenID or similar technologies. If, as a user, four of my password protected sites don’t use OpenID, then I still need a way to remember those passwords. Mitto also allows you to store other types of passwords and additional information (tags & notes), something lacking in OpenID.

3. People want ease of use and security without the hassle. The average consumer doesn’t want to carry around an extra key fob or USB device just to use when they want an additional layer of security when they log in. Mitto adds two-factor authentication by using something that most people already have, a cell phone. Each time you try to log in from a public (untrusted) computer, you’ll need to enter a unique one-time code that is sent as a text message to your cell.

4. There is a growing need for a way to manage shared passwords among individuals. Here are just a couple of examples where people need to share a password:
* a family sharing a Netflix account
* roommates sharing access to the cable bill website
* students sharing access to an online document repository for a project
* a small travel company whose employees share access to a common booking portal

Our password sharing feature lets you share these passwords, and manage them so that if one person is required to change the password, it gets updated transparently for the others.

A number of the technical challenges you bring up resonate more in larger, corporate environments. Mitto is oriented toward individual consumers and users within small businesses.

I hope you’ll take a moment to get more familiar with the Mitto service and see how it can make managing and logging into your websites easier and more secure. I’m happy to take the time to explain any feature to you or to answer any questions.

Keep up the great posts.

Cheers,
Arsen Ovanessoff
CEO and Founder
http://mitto.com

Follow Us:
http://twitter.com/MittoApp
http://facebook.com/MittoApp

Sir I agree with you at some extends, but if i wan...

2010-05-30T12:05:06.534-07:00

Sir I agree with you at some extends, but if i want to start in field like starting some small statup what would u recommend me beside these ideas?

What is hot and new tech. trends you would like us to recommend?

@The Angel Pitch Guy, I have an IBM Thinkpad, so I...

2010-05-30T11:11:01.802-07:00

@The Angel Pitch Guy, I have an IBM Thinkpad, so I use the bionic finger sensor. Otherwise, I don't use any of the tools. I have high, medium, and low security passwords which I reuse for many services.

@Anonymous, the problem with Openid and other initiatives is that every application has to implement and maintain it, which costs them money and time. That will never happen for legacy apps, it's tough to convince any app company to implement multiple logon schemes. As a result Openid and others like it are suffering, and very slow to be adopted. That's one reason I say this is not a good startup opportunity.

of the various ones you describe, which did you se...

2010-05-30T10:00:16.756-07:00

of the various ones you describe, which did you settle on? Thanks

Sir I am new to this, but was been quite a user of...

2010-05-30T07:10:40.041-07:00

Sir I am new to this, but was been quite a user of openid and rpxnow.com products, can you please explain a more is the future also have gone for such big platforms like openid.com?

Can't new startups can watch and do something on this?