SecurEnvoy, a provider of tokenless authentication products, has partnered with PasswordBank to take tokenless, two-factor authentication to the cloud and provide it as a service to PasswordBank's customers, complementing PasswordBank's identity management solutions.

According to the companies, PasswordBank customers will be able to access cloud services including Google Apps (NASDAQ: GOOG), Microsoft Office 365 (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) through PasswordBank's single sign-on platform and then use SMS messages for two-factor authentication. The goal is to provide business-grade security that doesn't require end users to carry a physical token at all times. That physical token is, instead, their mobile phone or other mobile device (presumably saving them from the Batman utility belt look we were all so proud of in the '90s).

Basically, the service being offered is a soft token that replaces the physical tokens many businesses use. It's not exactly new technology, of course. Soft keys are being provided to end users around the world in place of physical tokens, which are frequently lost or left on nighttables.

"A major benefit of cloud technology is that it frees employees from their workstations, and gives them access to the tools they need, wherever they are and whenever they need it. Knowing how important security is, many companies implement two-factor authentication to ensure that they always know who is accessing their systems at any time. But forcing users to carry tokens around with them (and not letting them log in if they don’t have them) defeats the point. By combining the freedom of using SMS messages as the second factor, with the flexibility of the cloud, suddenly workers really do have the freedom they need," said Steve Watts, SecurEnvoy's sales director, in a prepared statement.

Authentication tokens have been around for the last two decades, but as technology continues to change, more businesses are moving away from physical tokens to soft tokens by way of smartphone apps or SMS. Not everyone is entirely convinced of the security yet, though, so soft tokens are still taking some time to catch on throughout the industry.

Consider it an opportunity for channel partners as they help their increasingly security-conscious customers to deal with their access control issues.