AccessOwl has all the advantages without bringing the baggage
About
Just Appraised is a leading tech company that leverages advanced technology to streamline and modernize the property appraisal process for local governments.
Industry
Govtech, SaaS
Employees
133
Joiners/Leavers per month
Up to 10
Number of SaaS Tools
90
Founded
2017
Challenge
Just Appraised struggled with an informal and untracked access management process, posing risks ahead of their SOC 2 audit.
Outcome
Implementing AccessOwl streamlined access requests and approvals, ensured compliance, and significantly improved onboarding and offboarding processes.
Summary
At Just Appraised, a cutting-edge tech company dedicated to innovating the appraisal industry, CTO Harald was on a mission to enhance their access management system. As they prepared for SOC 2 compliance, the need for a streamlined and efficient solution became paramount. AccessOwl emerged as the ideal tool to meet their needs.
The Challenge
Harald reflects on the initial challenges, "We were looking for something that was very lightweight for both the people requesting access and the approver." The company's previous method of managing access was informal and lacked tracking. "People just reached out on Slack to someone that had access and could give you access, and we did not track that."
This ad-hoc approach posed significant risks, especially with the SOC 2 audit on the horizon. "SOC 2 is very clear: you're not going to get by an auditor without an access approval process," Harald stresses. The need for a formal, efficient solution was urgent.
The Solution
After evaluating various options, Just Appraised chose AccessOwl for its simplicity and effectiveness. Harald describes the implementation process, "The tool itself is very easy. What's messy is sorting out all the things we have... But it was probably as easy as you could make that process short of fully automating it."
AccessOwl’s ability to be used across all apps—whether directly integrated, managed through Okta, or an internal app without an API—was a key factor. “AccessOwl allows you to be universal and be implemented universally.”
The Impact
The impact of AccessOwl was transformative. "We know which apps exist, we know who is administering them. We had to set up policies on approvals. Absolutely, it helped us grow up," Harald shares. This newfound structure and maturity were critical in their SOC 2 preparations.
AccessOwl also revolutionized the onboarding and offboarding processes. Previously, new employees took up to a week to gain access to necessary tools. Now, access is granted on the first day, significantly improving productivity. "It's much more professional. We look like a real company that has their act together," Harald notes.
Offboarding saw a dramatic improvement as well. Harald highlights, "Now, AccessOwl sends it to all the distributed admins. Offboarding a user used to be a solid hour of going through many, many different systems. Now, it's much more streamlined."
The Results
While the full audit results are pending, Harald is confident in their preparedness. "The most valuable portion will be if we have no exceptions on our approval policy, and so far, that's looking pretty good." Additionally, AccessOwl's efficient access management has reduced the need for more expensive single sign-on versions of tools like Figma and Miro.
The team's reaction to AccessOwl has been overwhelmingly positive. "I would go all the way to a sigh of relief. AccessOwl delivered what we needed without the clunkiness," Harald recalls. The tool's ease of use and efficiency have fostered widespread adoption.
Conclusion
Harald sums up the experience with AccessOwl perfectly: "It's lightweight, very easy on the users, and it lets you be a mature process on access without all the downsides of the typical mature process."
For companies like Just Appraised, striving for compliance and efficiency without compromising user experience, AccessOwl is the ultimate solution. As Harald puts it, "AccessOwl has all the advantages without bringing the baggage."
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