Highly Available Hybrid Cloud
RSA Authentication Manager 8.5 can be easily configured as a secure proxy and failover node for the Cloud Authentication Service. The secure proxy service allows Authentication Manager to forward multifactor authentication (MFA) requests to the Cloud Authentication Service. If the cloud service cannot be reached, authentication requests failover to Authentication Manager, and users are prompted for Authenticate Tokencode, ensuring high availability access to RSA SecurID Agent protected mission critical resources. This creates a compelling hybrid cloud solution. 

For information on the latest Cloud Authentication Service release, see RSA SecurID Access Release Notes: Cloud Authentication Service and RSA SecurID Authenticate App.

Easy Integration for Hybrid Cloud Deployments 
To integrate the RSA Authentication Manager deployment with the Cloud Authentication Service, the Identity Router can be easily embedded into Authentication Manager directly from the Security Console. No need configure network settings or requisition, configure and manage additional virtual machines  It's easy, fast and lowers cost. For more information, see Configure an Embedded Identity Router.

The secure proxy service in Authentication Manager allows REST protocol authentication agents, such as the MFA Agent 2.0 for Microsoft Windows, to send their authentication requests to the Cloud Authentication Service.  This eliminates a major disruption and security concerns caused by having to establish many MFA REST Agent connections directly to the Cloud Authentication Service. Simple and secure!  

Unified Windows MFA Agent 

RSA has also announced the Unified Windows Agent 2.0.1 supporting both RSA SecurID Tokens and RSA Authenticate App.  It works perfectly with the Secure Proxy and Failover Node service in RSA Authentication Manager for online and offline authentication. For more information, see the RSA MFA Agent 2.0.1 for Microsoft Windows Release Notes.  

Direct Upgrade to RSA Authentication Manager 8.5

RSA Authentication Manager 8.5 provides a direct upgrade feature to bypass multiple, time-consuming, serial upgrades and go straight to AM 8.5. It utilizes the same well-known in-place upgrade process simplifying and significantly reducing the time and effort to get to the latest release.  Customers on version AM 8.2 SP1, AM 8.3 and AM 8.4 can directly upgrade to AM 8.5. This capability significantly accelerates the Time-To-Value. For instructions, see the RSA Authentication Manager 8.5 Setup and Configuration Guide.

There is no better time to take the journey to modern MFA and the cloud.