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The Best 2FA Solution For Your App Isn’t Build vs. Buy. It’s Both!

2016-03-02_1504Authy often takes what we’ve learned about digital security and user authentication to provide valuable insights that you can apply to your own websites, interactive tools, and apps. That’s why we’ve created our latest white paper, titled “Why You Can Buy Your Application Security And Then Build With It.”

In the early days of internet development, programmers regularly had to build and code applications, services, and solutions from scratch. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case. Software development has changed so dramatically that you can now put together a simple web-based or mobile app—complete with database, application server, and a whole framework for writing the user interface—in just a few hours.

2016-03-02_1509What hasn’t changed is the fact that when building a software application, security remains a top priority. And building it yourself is still very complex, very risky, and very expensive, especially when you consider the ongoing resources required to maintain, operate and support whatever it is you’re building. And if what you’re building is a two-factor authentication solution, be prepared to refactor, update, and re-engineer on a regular basis because the digital security landscape changes almost daily.

It’s not uncommon for companies to believe that implementing two-factor authentication is a question of “do-it-yourself” or “off-the-shelf.” Some even approach a 2FA project as if it’ll cost next to nothing, forgetting to consider the maintenance and operating costs. The reality is that none of this true, making the decision of whether to “buy or build” even more crucial than ever before.

New White Paper

The latest Authy white paper provides clear evidence that all 2FA solutions are not created equal, and that commonly used software-based solutions vary significantly in cost and capabilities. Readers will be better prepared to evaluate whether an authentication solution they’ve been considering will offer the scalable, cost-effective, high-performance solution their businesses require.

You’ll learn:

  • How today’s APIs are simpler than the traditional COM-and-SOAP-style APIs of a decade ago, and how they can be integrated into apps and web solutions quickly and easily
  • How to move beyond standard TOTP to offer push-notifications, multi-device flexibility, and smooth recovery-due-to-phone-loss that today’s users demand
  • Why there’s no need to panic if your developers are not experts in security software development (and why it would be improbable and cost-prohibitive to hire the staff needed to effectively patch each and every bug anyway)
  • How the volume of maintenance issues, expected to be brought on by increased user adoption of 2FA, is not something you want to take on yourself
  • How to minimize the potential of being hacked without compromising application availability or user experience
  • Most importantly: the pros and cons of buying a solution, the challenges of building one yourself, and the risk of doing nothing at all

Comparing the DIY days of yore with the “there’s an app for that” mentality of today, we’ll expose the true value of building, or buying—or both—when it comes to digital security.

We encourage you to read our new whitepaper, “Why You Can Buy Your Application Security And Then Build With It” before you take your next step regarding two-factor authentication. Download a copy here.

About the author Authy

Authy is simple & secure two-factor authentication, available as a free mobile or desktop app, from Twilio. To get yours, click on the download button at the top of the page.

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