On-Premises MFA

On-premises MFA refers to multifactor authentication systems deployed and managed within an organization’s own physical or private infrastructure rather than delivered through cloud services. On-premises multifactor authentication (MFA) emerged as organizations sought stronger access assurance for sensitive environments where latency, data residency, regulatory constraints, or offline operation were critical concerns. Instead of relying on a single credential such as a badge or PIN, on-premises MFA combines multiple factors — something a user knows, has, or is — to verify identity before granting access, reducing the risk of unauthorized entry tied to lost, stolen, or shared credentials.

While MFA is often discussed in the context of digital applications, its role in the physical world is equally important. MFA for buildings and for door access are widely used in healthcare, government, manufacturing, and other regulated industries where physical access to spaces, equipment, or records must be tightly controlled. MFA for physical security strengthens traditional badge-based systems by adding an additional factor, such as a biometric or secure mobile credential, ensuring that access controls verify both the credential and the individual presenting it. This approach is especially valuable in environments with shared workspaces, shift-based staff, or high visitor traffic, where accountability and traceability are essential.

From a cybersecurity and operational perspective, on-premises MFA supports a unified approach to risk management across physical and digital domains. By extending MFA for access controls beyond IT systems to physical entry points, organizations can better align with zero-trust principles and compliance requirements that mandate strong authentication and auditable access logs. Financially, on-premises MFA can reduce costs associated with security incidents, credential reissuance, and manual access reviews, while giving internal teams more direct control over integrations, policies, and lifecycle management within their existing infrastructure.

Imprivata supports on-premises MFA as part of a broader identity and access strategy through Imprivata Enterprise Access Management (EAM). EAM enables organizations to apply consistent, strong authentication across both logical and physical access scenarios, including MFA for physical security use cases. By integrating on-premises MFA with centralized identity governance and access management, Imprivata helps organizations improve security posture, simplify administration, and support compliance requirements without adding unnecessary friction for end users.