What should organizations look for in an effective MFA approach?

An effective MFA approach starts with the choice of factor, since not all methods offer equivalent protection, and extends through how well that method fits into an organization's existing systems and workflows.

Criteria worth evaluating:

• Phishing resistance: Preference for certificate-based or FIDO methods over SMS or basic one-time codes.
• Identity system integration: Clean integration with existing IAM and SSO infrastructure rather than a standalone silo.
• Consistent policy enforcement: The ability to apply the same MFA requirements across all privileged and remote access points.
• Deployment practicality: Ease of rollout and ongoing management as the organization and its device landscape change.
• User experience: A low-friction experience that encourages adoption rather than workarounds.

An approach that scores well on security but is inconvenient to use in practice is more likely to be circumvented or poorly adopted, which is why usability deserves equal weight alongside pure security strength when evaluating options.