Cisco Duo

What it is

Cisco Duo (Duo Security) is a cloud identity and access platform centred on multi-factor authentication, SSO and device trust. Organisations use it to protect workforce logins to cloud and on-premises applications with phishing-resistant and passwordless options on higher editions.

What it helps with

- Enforcing MFA prompts and authenticator policies at application sign-in.
- Offering single sign-on and directory integrations for workforce access under paid editions.
- Checking device health and trusted endpoints as part of access decisions where licensed.
- Scaling from a free small-team tier to Essentials, Advantage and Premier feature packs.
- Supporting zero-trust style access programmes alongside broader IAM stacks such as Okta or Entra ID.
- Administering policies from a cloud console without building MFA infrastructure from scratch.

Who it's for

IT and security teams that need a widely recognised MFA and workforce access product as a peer to other Identity & Access platforms already on the directory.

Worth knowing

Duo is freemium: Duo Free covers organisations with up to ten users at no charge; paid Essentials, Advantage and Premier editions are priced per user per month on duo.com/editions-and-pricing. Official site: duo.com. Confirm current edition limits on Cisco Duo pricing pages.