In today’s digital workplace, every extra login costs more than just time—it erodes focus, productivity, and trust. When employees authenticate multiple times a day—at the device, in Citrix DaaS Workspace, and again across SaaS applications—they pay a hidden tax that compounds across the organization.
This friction doesn’t just slow users down; it disrupts their workflow, creates frustration, and interrupts productivity. It also increases help-desk tickets, drives insecure workarounds, and forces IT teams to manage identity policies in multiple places. Over time, fragmented authentication becomes a business risk—not just a usability issue.
The real cost of fragmented identity
When identity is broken into separate steps, problems multiply:
- Lost productivity: frequent login interruptions pull users out of their flow.
- Operational drag: support teams spend time resolving avoidable SSO issues.
- Security gaps: inconsistent enforcement creates blind spots and audit friction.
- User frustration: confidence in IT systems erodes when access feels unreliable.
These challenges are even more pronounced in shared or regulated environments—such as healthcare, finance, or the public sector—where retyping credentials is impractical and often non-compliant.
From repeated logins to continuous identity
The strategic shift is straightforward: establish identity once and let it carry forward.
A continuous identity model creates one identity and one policy authority, applied consistently from the endpoint through applications and into the browser.
This approach allows organizations to:
- Remove friction without weakening security
- Keep MFA and conditional access centralized
- Support shared workstations with fast, secure user switching
- Reduce complexity instead of adding more tools
In environments with shared devices, solutions like Imprivata badge-based authentication play a critical role—enabling clinicians and task workers to move between workstations quickly while maintaining security, accountability, and compliance.
Making continuous identity real
This is where Citrix Unicon OS (eLux) comes in.
As a lightweight, centrally managed Linux-based endpoint OS, Unicon OS extends trusted identity providers using standards-based authentication via SAML and OpenID Connect, including providers such as Okta and Microsoft Entra ID—directly to the endpoint, Citrix DaaS Workspace, and the browser. Combined with Imprivata workflows for shared stations, it enables fast badge-in, context preservation, and seamless transitions between devices—without breaking security policies or user sessions.
The result is a continuous identity flow that reduces login prompts, lowers support effort, and keeps governance anchored at the identity provider. Because Unicon OS is already included in many Citrix customer entitlements (terms apply), organizations can adopt this model without adding endpoint complexity or vendor sprawl.
Take the next step
Continuous identity isn’t about signing in faster—it’s about working without unnecessary interruptions, even in the most demanding environments. Explore the full TechZone article to see how continuous identity—across endpoint, Workspace, browser, and shared workstations—works in practice. Or start a focused pilot with Citrix Unicon OS by contacting your Citrix representative.
