SMBs without a security team
Passwords are handled by whoever can, and the "passwords" spreadsheet passes from hand to hand.
SMARTLEDGE · credential management
Enterprise password manager
An enterprise password manager keeps company passwords in an encrypted vault, shares them by person and by team, logs who used each one and lets you remove access the moment someone leaves. For companies and SMBs across Latin America, SMARTLEDGE chooses the tool for your environment, deploys it, moves passwords out of spreadsheets and chats, sets the policies to share and recover them, and adds MFA and passkeys where possible.
A spreadsheet full of passwords has no owner, leaves no trail and cannot be "unshared".
SL / 01What it is
What changes with an enterprise password manager?
Every company has shared accounts: online banking, social media, a supplier portal, the router, the sales mailbox. The problem is not sharing them, but how. It is one part of identity and access management (IAM).
| Situation | Spreadsheet or chat | Enterprise password manager |
|---|---|---|
| Where the password lives | Spreadsheet or chatIn files, messages and notes, copied several times | Enterprise managerIn an encrypted vault, in one place |
| Who can see it | Spreadsheet or chatAnyone who has the file or was in the group | Enterprise managerOnly authorized people or teams |
| When someone leaves | Spreadsheet or chatThey keep what they saw; every password must be changed by hand | Enterprise managerTheir access is removed and you know which passwords to change |
| Who used it | Spreadsheet or chatThere is no way to know | Enterprise managerLog of access and changes |
| Supplier access | Spreadsheet or chatThe password is sent and stays with them | Enterprise managerTime-limited access that can be revoked |
SL / 02What it includes
What the service includes
The scope is defined by the number of users, the applications they use and how each team works. Typically:
- Credential inventory: which accounts are shared, where the passwords are today and who uses them.
- Tool selection: comparison by users, Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, single sign-on (SSO), where data is stored and access recovery.
- Deployment: team vaults, permissions, user onboarding and offboarding, and connection to the company directory where appropriate.
- Migration: moving passwords from spreadsheets, browsers and chats into the manager, and deleting the stray copies.
- Policies: how a credential is shared, recovered and removed; what to do when someone leaves or a supplier's work ends.
- MFA and passkeys: a second factor on the manager itself and on critical accounts, and a plan to move eligible accounts to passkeys.
- Training: a short guide for users and for whoever administers the tool.
We choose the right tool together
We work as consultants: we do not sell a tool, we help you choose the one that best fits your company. Some of the options we evaluate:
| Tool | Best suited for | What it offers |
|---|---|---|
| Bitwarden | Best suited forValue and open source | What it offersOpen-source code, zero-knowledge encryption and unlimited sharing. |
| 1Password | Best suited forDevelopers and control | What it offersAdvanced team collaboration, developer secrets management and granular access control. |
| Proton Pass | Best suited forPrivacy | What it offersSwiss-based: end-to-end encryption under Swiss privacy law, shared vaults and an auditable admin console. |
| Keeper | Best suited forRegulated industries | What it offersCompliance features, audit logs and a simple interface for non-technical employees. |
| LastPass Business | Best suited forEnterprise integrations | What it offersDirectory integrations (Active Directory, Entra ID, Google Workspace, Okta) and over 100 security policies. |
The tool, the number of users and what the deployment includes are defined in writing in each project's scope.
SL / 03Stages
Inventory, organize, migrate, strengthen
01
Inventory
We find the shared accounts and where their passwords are today.
02
Organize
We define team vaults, owners and who accesses what.
03
Migrate
We move passwords into the manager, change the most exposed ones and delete the copies.
04
Strengthen
We add MFA to critical accounts and plan the move to passkeys.
SL / 04Who it is for
When does an enterprise password manager make sense?
Teams that share accounts
Finance, marketing and support use the same bank, social media and portal accounts.
Staff turnover and suppliers
Every departure or outside supplier leaves passwords nobody knows are still active.
After an incident
If an account was taken over or a password leaked, organize all the others before it happens again.
Related: FIDO2 and passkeys (the next step: passwordless access), brand protection and phishing (exposed credential alerts) and autonomous pentesting (what an attacker achieves with a weak or reused password).
SL / 05How we work
What a project with SMARTLEDGE looks like
- Discovery: users, teams, applications, shared accounts and how onboarding and offboarding work today.
- Recommendation: tool, vault structure and policies, in writing, before buying licenses.
- Pilot: one team first, to fine-tune permissions and procedures.
- Phased rollout: the remaining teams, with password migration and training.
- Close-out: exposed passwords changed, stray copies deleted and the onboarding, offboarding and recovery procedure documented.
One (1) day at your company. An assessment with no professional fees.
If you are not sure where to start, we start there: we review your operations and leave you written feedback with the best possible path in your technology context.
SMARTLEDGE covers the professional fees for the assessment and the written feedback. Travel expenses are covered by the prospect/customer (*). Offer available for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
(*) No cost at all for customers within 30 km of Tigre Centro (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
SL / 06Questions
Frequently asked questions
How can a company share passwords securely?
With an enterprise password manager: each password lives in an encrypted vault and is shared with a person or a team, without pasting it into a chat or a spreadsheet. Access can be use-only, you can see who used it, and you can remove it the moment someone leaves the company or a supplier's work ends.
Which password manager should a company use?
It depends on how many users there are, whether the company runs Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, whether single sign-on (SSO) is needed, where the data must be stored and how access is recovered. SMARTLEDGE does not sell a tool: as consultants, we help you choose according to those needs among options such as Bitwarden (value and open source), 1Password (developers and control), Proton Pass (privacy), Keeper (regulated industries) or LastPass Business (enterprise integrations).
Does a password manager replace MFA?
No. The manager organizes and protects passwords; a second factor (MFA) stops a stolen password from being enough to get in. Using both is recommended, starting with the manager itself and the most critical accounts.
What happens if someone forgets the master password?
It depends on the tool and how it is configured. Before the rollout we define the recovery procedure and who authorizes it, and we test it, so nobody loses access to the passwords they need for work.
Should you use a password manager or go straight to passkeys?
Usually both, in stages. Not every application accepts passkeys yet, so the manager organizes the passwords that still exist today, and compatible accounts move to passkeys or FIDO2 security keys as they can. See FIDO2 and passkeys.
How much does an enterprise password manager cost?
It depends on the number of users, the tool chosen and the scope of the deployment (migration, directory integration, training and support). We quote once the scope is defined with your team.
SL / 10
Contact
Let's talk about your challenge
Tell us which process you want to improve, what happens today and what outcome you need. That gives us a starting point to define the scope and next step.
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