Identity and access management built into Zoho Workplace

Challenges with managing a remote or hybrid workforce

With a remote or hybrid team, your security perimeter isn’t just the office firewall—it’s every phone, tablet, coffee shop hotspot, and app your team uses.

Without a strong IAM solution, it's easy to lose track of who’s accessing what and from where, leaving your organization vulnerable to security breaches.

•  The need for policy-based access management

  Policy-based access management allows you to set clear rules that apply to everyone, no matter where they are. This ensures that every employee, whether they're in the office or a coffee shop, follows the same security protocols.

•  A built-in IAM solution

  The biggest advantage of having an IAM solution built into your main productivity suite, like Zoho Directory with Zoho Workplace, is seamless integration and simplicity.

  Your user identities, access policies, and security settings are all unified from day one, giving you a powerful, all-in-one solution that’s more secure and far easier to manage.

Centralized user and group management

Managing who has access to what shouldn't be a headache. With Zoho Directory, you get a central hub to handle all of your user and group needs.

•  Add and manage users from a single dashboard

  Onboard new hires quickly and efficiently, managing their details, passwords, and security settings all from one central place. When someone leaves, you can just as easily revoke their access, keeping your data secure.

•  Create groups for departments and teams

  Whether it's the "Marketing team," "HR department," or a special project group, organize your workforce by creating relevant user groups.

•  Assign roles and define access levels

  Give each user the right level of access based on their job. For example, a manager may need full access to reports, while an intern only needs basic tools. This helps protect sensitive data and ensures that everyone has what they need.

Secure authentication and access controls

Keep your business safe by making sure only the right people can log in and access your tools. With smart security features, you can protect data without making it hard for employees to get their work done.

•  Single sign-on for Zoho and third-party apps

  Let employees log in once and access all of their work apps—Zoho and others like Asana, Hubspot, or Slack—without needing to remember multiple passwords. It's faster, easier, and more secure.

•  Multi-factor authentication

  Passwords aren't always enough. Make your login process more secure by asking users to confirm their identity—such as with a one-time code sent to their phone or a fingerprint scan. These methods are hard to fake or steal, adding a strong layer of protection against unwanted access.

•  Smart password policies

  Set rules for strong passwords—like requiring a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols—and decide how often they should be changed.

Lifecycle management

Zoho Directory helps you manage every stage of an employee's journey—from their first day to the day they bid farewell.

•  Onboarding new employees

  Zoho Directory makes onboarding effortless. As soon as a new employee is added, you can quickly grant them access to all of the necessary applications, credentials, and resources they need to start being productive on day one.

•  Role changes

  Easily update your employees' permissions to match their new roles. You can instantly grant access to new tools and revoke access to old ones, ensuring that they always have precisely what they need and nothing more.

•  Offboarding departing employees

  Prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information after an employee's departure, ensuring that your intellectual property remains protected. With just a few clicks, instantly revoke all of their access to company applications, data, and systems, ensuring that no loose ends are left behind.

Enforcement of access policies and security rules

Zoho Directory helps you control who can access your company's apps and data—and from where, when, and how.

•  Set rules based on device, IP address, location, or time

  Create smart access rules based on various factors. For example, allow access only from company-issued devices, or restrict logins to specific office IP addresses, or even set time-based rules, ensuring that certain applications are only accessible during working hours.

•  Restrict access to Zoho apps from untrusted networks or geographies

  Block access from high-risk locations or unknown networks. If an attempted login comes from a country you don't do business with, or an IP address flagged as suspicious, you can automatically deny access, stopping potential threats before they reach your system.

•  Monitor and audit login activity

  View a complete history of login attempts, including successful and failed logins, the devices used, and the locations from which access was attempted. Quickly identify unusual activity, investigate potential security incidents, and maintain a clear record for compliance purposes by tracking who’s logging in and how.

Integrations with external identity providers

Whether you're managing users through Microsoft, Okta, or any other on-premise or cloud directories, Zoho Directory works smoothly with the identity systems your organization already uses.

•  Support for SAML-based single sign-on

  Zoho Directory fully supports SAML-based SSO, which means it can act as the central point for your employees to log in once and gain secure access to a wide range of external cloud applications that also support SAML.

•  Sync with external identity providers

  Zoho Directory can synchronize directly with your existing identity providers, helping you to simplify management and keep your user data in sync across platforms. Automatically pull user details from Microsoft AD, Okta, or any other on-premise or cloud directories, and ensure consistent access across systems.

Activity reports

Knowing what's happening within your organization is key to staying secure. Zoho Directory gives you clear, actionable insights into how users interact with your systems, helping you stay informed and spot issues early.

•  Get insights into logins, access attempts, and security violations

  Quickly spot unusual patterns or potential threats before they become a problem. Zoho Directory's comprehensive reports include a detailed history of successful and failed logins, attempts to access apps without permission, and any security rules that were triggered.

•  Monitor usage trends across users and apps

  Make smarter decisions and support your teams more effectively. With Zoho Directory, track which users are accessing which applications most frequently, identify underutilized tools, and ensure that your licenses are being used effectively.

•  Export audit logs for compliance

  Demonstrate compliance with internal policies and external regulations with verifiable information. Zoho Directory provides exportable audit logs that contain a complete, tamper-proof record of all activity, ensuring that you're prepared when an audit comes knocking.

Compliance and governance benefits

Zoho Directory helps your organization stay compliant with data protection laws and maintain strong internal controls.

•  Helps meet data protection regulations

  Stay aligned with global and industry-specific privacy rules and meet legal requirements with confidence. With Zoho Directory, keep personal and sensitive information protected through secure authentication and access controls. Make audits easier with clear records of who accessed what, and when.

•  Reduces risk of unauthorized access and insider threats

  Zoho Directory helps you actively combat security incidents that come from within an organization, either by accident or malicious intent.

  With secure access policies based on location or device, you can prevent unwanted access from untrusted sources. Its robust offboarding process ensures that when an employee leaves, their access is instantly revoked, eliminating the risk of data breaches.

•  Central visibility for IT and compliance teams

  You can't protect what you can't see. Zoho Directory offers a centralized dashboard that helps IT and compliance teams monitor and audit login activity, track access changes, and review a full history of security events. With this clear visibility, you can maintain control and make informed decisions to keep your organization secure.

Why Zoho Workplace, though?

Zoho Workplace is an integrated suite of cloud-based applications that provides tools for business communication, collaboration, and productivity, including email, document editors, chat, and file storage, aimed at competing with platforms like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.

•  Strong security measures
•  Integration across apps and ecosystems
•  Customizable control
•  Timely and assured delivery
•  Business continuity and stability
•  Around-the-clock support
•  Budget-friendly solutions