Should Your Business Use a Password Manager?

A password manager is not magically immune to compromise. It is still software, and the provider and the account protecting it need to be secured properly. But for most businesses, the alternative is worse: reused passwords, shared spreadsheets, browser notes, messages and staff relying on memory.

What a password manager improves

It lets staff use unique, strong passwords without memorising them, gives the business a controlled way to share credentials where sharing is unavoidable, and makes access easier to remove when someone leaves.

The master account matters

The account protecting the password vault should use strong MFA, and recovery/admin access should be planned so the business is not dependent on one person.

Choose a business product, not an improvised personal setup

Business password managers provide administrative controls, user lifecycle management, audit information and safer shared vaults. That is much easier to govern than asking everybody to pick their own consumer app.

Do not use a password manager to justify shared accounts

If a service supports individual user accounts, use them. A password manager is useful for credentials that genuinely must be shared, not as a way to avoid proper identity management.

Passkeys and SSO reduce the password problem further

Password managers remain useful because many systems still use passwords. Over time, passkeys and single sign-on can reduce how many standalone passwords staff need at all.

Our MFA/passkey guide covers that next layer, while password spraying explains why weak reused passwords remain a problem even before phishing is involved.