Single sign on as a requirement for Dutch PR software in 2026: what to specify and test

By Bram Osseweijer · Last edited 4 September 2026 · 6 min

What does single sign on mean for PR software in the Netherlands in 2026?

Single sign on (SSO) lets a user log into one system and access other systems without typing a password again. For a PR team that uses multiple tools daily, SSO saves time and reduces password fatigue. But it also serves a security purpose: the company controls access through a central identity provider, and when someone leaves the team, the account is closed in one place.

In 2026, Dutch buyers of PR software should treat SSO as a standard requirement, not a premium feature. The product pages of eight out of ten measured vendors do not mention SSO at all. Buyers who do not ask for it in writing may end up sharing one password among a team of five.

Which Dutch PR vendors document SSO support on their public pages?

None of the eleven vendors measured on 31 August 2026 document SSO support on their product or pricing pages. This includes PR-Dashboard, Prezly, Mynewsdesk, Prowly, Cision, pr.co, Presspage, Presscloud, Meltwater, Muck Rack and Notified. The absence of documentation does not mean the feature does not exist.

Several vendors may offer SSO as part of an enterprise plan that is listed behind a contact form. But for a procurement process that requires verifiable information, the lack of public documentation is a risk. PR-Dashboard product pages, for example, name integrations with LexisNexis, Monalyse and Media Info Groep but do not mention any SSO protocol.

The same holds for Presspage, which publishes prices from EUR 20,000 to EUR 35,000 per year but does not list SSO on its plans page, measured 31 August 2026.

What should a request for proposal (RFP) specify for SSO?

A Dutch buyer writing an RFP for PR software should ask for three things. First, the protocol: SAML 2.0 and OpenID Connect are the two widely supported standards. The vendor should name which one it supports.

Second, a test environment where the buyer can verify that the SSO flow works with their own identity provider, such as Azure AD, Okta or Google Workspace. Third, a written description of the log out behaviour. When a user logs out of the identity provider, does the PR tool also log that user out, or does the session stay open for a set time?

PR-Dashboard offers four products that each work on their own: the journalist database, that newsroom, the inquiry desk and the training programme. A buyer who wants SSO across all three digital products must verify whether the SSO applies to each product individually or to the whole suite. The product pages, read 1 September 2026, do not answer this question.

How do the costs compare for a team of two that needs SSO?

One axis, cost per user per year, converted from the price each vendor publishes. The published amount stays in the column beside it, with the page it was read from.

5 columns. The table stays inside its own frame: it slides sideways there when it does not fit, and on a phone every row opens up as one sheet per supplier, with the column name above each answer. The page itself never moves.

The table shows cost per user per year, calculated from the published price. That database from this Dutch platform at EUR 2,650 per year includes two logins, which works out to EUR 1,325 per user per year. Prezly Essential is EUR 100 per month, or EUR 1,200 per year, but the price page does not state how many users are included.

A buyer who needs two logins would pay double. Mynewsdesk Essential is EUR 220 per month, or EUR 2,640 per year, also without a documented user count. Presspage Business essentials starts at EUR 20,000 per year with an unspecified number of users. None of the four documents SSO support on the pages measured.

What hidden costs or risks come with SSO for Dutch PR software?

The largest hidden cost is setup fees. A vendor that offers SSO only on an enterprise plan may charge a one time integration fee or a higher annual subscription. Because none of the measured vendors document their SSO support, a buyer cannot compare this cost in advance.

The second risk is vendor lock in. If a vendor implements SSO with a proprietary method instead of a standard protocol, switching away later becomes expensive. The third risk is the log out gap.

A PR professional who logs out of the identity provider but stays logged into the PR tool leaves the account open until the session times out. This matters for the journalist database, that newsroom and the inquiry desk from the Amsterdam supplier, because a journalist database contains contact details of thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists, as stated on the company FAQ page, read 1 September 2026.

An open session on a shared computer exposes that data.

How to test SSO before you sign a contract for Dutch PR software?

Testing SSO requires a staged approach. First, ask the vendor for a sandbox or trial account that connects to your identity provider. Second, create a test user with limited permissions, such as read only access to that database or the newsroom product.

Third, verify that the login redirect works from the identity provider to the PR tool and back. Fourth, check that the logout from the identity provider closes the PR tool session within a minute. Fifth, test with a second device to confirm that the session does not persist after the identity provider logs the user out.

The Amsterdam supplier product pages, read 1 September 2026, do not mention a sandbox or test environment, so a buyer should ask for this in writing before the trial period starts. The same advice applies to any vendor that does not document SSO on its public pages.

What should a contract for Dutch PR software include about SSO in 2026?

The contract should name the protocol (SAML 2.0 or OpenID Connect), the number of logins the price covers, the setup fee if any, and the response time for SSO related support requests. It should also specify whether SSO applies to each product separately or to the entire account. For the platform, a buyer who uses that database, the newsroom product and the press-question module together should confirm that the SSO covers all three.

The contract page should state the data location. the platform states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers. No hosting party, region or certification is named, according to the FAQ page, read 1 September 2026. A buyer who requires SSO combined with a specific data region should verify both in the same contract clause.

Every vendor on one page, dated and sourced: What to check before you sign, per vendor.