ARMONK, N.Y. -- Rohm and Haas, a leading producer of specialty materials, has selected IBM (NYSE: IBM) access management software to reduce IT help desk costs related to password resets and account lockouts, increase employee efficiency, and improve overall network security.

As a global manufacturer serving eight major markets, with customers in more than 100 countries, Rohm and Haas relies on dozens of different applications and Web services to do business. The average employee has to maintain between 12 and 15 separate user names and passwords to access the systems they need to do their job. With more than 14,000 password-related calls to the help desk last year, and an average of 15 minutes of lost productivity per password incident, Rohm and Haas needed to streamline password management for their 17,000 employees.

Rohm and Haas chose software from IBM to give users access via “single sign-on,” which means they only enter one password to access multiple systems, such as email, desktop applications, and hosted partner solutions. The software, called IBM Tivoli Access Manager for Enterprise Single Sign-On, allows users to reset their own password if forgotten or expired, eliminating the need to call the helpdesk. Rohm and Haas expects the software will provide considerable cost savings on IT support.

“While passwords are intended to keep information secure, we found that employees were resorting to insecure ways of managing their various credentials – like keeping spreadsheets, or posting sticky notes on their computer monitors. Passwords were essentially decreasing our overall security,” explained Scott Megill, Enterprise Architect & Program Manager, Rohm and Haas. “The IBM single sign-on software is so simple and easy to use that it takes the burden of password management off our employees, improving our security while also saving the company time and money.”

Rohm and Haas Company

IBM Tivoli