Okta Identity Cloud, Okta Identity Management, Okta Workforce Identity and Okta Identity Suite are an integrated identity and access management solution that offers great flexibility and security. It is a cloud-based solution, also referred to as Identity-Management-as-a-Service (IDaaS), which serves businesses and organizations across different industries, including consumer services, utilities, energy, information technology (IT), telecommunications, etc.
Okta is an on-demand identity management platform that allows for rapid and secure adoption of all web applications in the cloud and behind the firewall. It is designed for companies and organizations everywhere that are trying to migrate or move to cloud-based services like Google Apps, Salesforce, Workday, NetSuite and WebEx to facilitate their core business processes.
This type of software solution is meant to address the need for a seamless adoption, deployment, security and management of all company web services and applications. These activities should require a robust, reliable, secure and scalable on-demand solution that is built from the ground up.
Instead of having to completely construct an integrated and on-demand identity management system from scratch, Okta delivers a comprehensive service, a turnkey solution that effectively addresses the requirements of IT personnel, business stakeholders and decision-makers, executives as well as the end-users. The software solution is designed so there will be no extensive services engagements or customization work necessary.
Okta Features
Okta offers a wide variety of features and tools to help organizations move and manage their web services. Some of these key features include account management, access request management, user provisioning, compliance management and multi-factor authentication.
The cloud-based solution’s lifecycle management feature allows organizations to effectively automate business operations, as well as the workflows for both internal and external users. Companies are offered a universal directory to facilitate the various challenges normally associated with managing multiple users, devices, application services and APIs.
Furthermore, the Okta Identity Suite specifically offers a variety of useful features, including mobile device management, network security and enterprise-level architecture. It is also tailored to support a number of integrations with third-party solutions like Office 365, Slack, Salesforce, Splunk and more.
More of Okta’s features and capabilities include:
Directory integration capabilities
Okta is designed to support a number of resources for user information, all of which can be integrated and synced with the Okta Universal Directory feature. One of the more robust features the cloud-based service brings to the table is its ability to configure and define which data resource maintains master-level status for a specific series of attributes.
For instance, Okta identity and access management may be set up so that it obtains employee information from a human resources SaaS app, a segment of the pulled data could then be configured as master attributes. These attributes will then be added back to the Active Directory, allowing HR-related modifications and adjustments to settle.
User provisioning tools
With an AD agent installed and the directory integration settings properly configured, the importation/migration of users may commence. This is where user provisioning becomes integral to the process. By default, the process of importing users is done on a scheduled basis.
Okta takes advantage of the import process to collect and validate user account information. This process is typically achieved by figuring out if the user matches an existing Okta account or not.
Setting up how each of the categories is managed will depend on your organizational requirements. This means you may either automate the user data import process for pre-defined scenarios or you can go with a hands-on process administered by an actual person to make sure all imported user accounts are provisioned properly.
Single sign-on feature
Single sign-on is one of the better features of the Okta identity management solution. The ability to configure user security just once and then link it to other applications within the service like Google Suite or your Google account is a great function.
You only have to sign-on the user portal once and you will have access to all your accounts within the service. It’s a great time-saving feature. Enabling single sign-on (SSO) through the user portal requires assigning individual applications to specific users and/or teams within your directory.
The platform supports a few advanced features designed for mobile app users, which includes the power to authenticate against mobile applications directly from the SaaS provider instead of going through a mobile webpage. However, policies involving mobile access and authentication must be individually enabled for each individual app and mobile device.
Reporting capabilities
Okta Identity Management has an impressive reporting feature. Its reporting capabilities cover a number of categories, including authentication requests, app usage, MFA usage, suspicious activities and de-provisioning. Additionally, the platform’s system log is relatively simple to parse. Pre-established views provide you with a good starting point for most cases, sorting out log activities and events down to individual categories.
To get more in-depth, there are a few tools you can use, such as date/time filters, a timeline view and a text search function. Once you’ve narrowed it down to a digestible set of activities or events, each log line can further be expanded to reveal even more specific details like the users or individuals involved in the activity, the target and result of that particular activity, information regarding the device and the client software.
The log reports may even provide you with geographic information down to the specific latitude and longitude.
Okta Benefits
There are many benefits to implementing Okta identity management into your workforce, web services, apps and other business processes.
Some of the best benefits of using Okta’s expansive platform include:
Better protection against security breaches
Okta Identity Cloud is fully capable of protecting you and your app users from various security breaches, including credential harvesting which has become prevalent due to weak security in mobile, cloud and legacy applications.
Whatever concerns or issues you have, they can be mitigated by centralizing your identity and management, minimizing your vulnerabilities, enabling visibility, applying robust authentication methods and shortening your response time.
Improved productivity and collaboration
In today’s business environment, it’s not uncommon for teams to work with individuals and groups outside the organization. In this scenario, it is vital to have a strong identity and access management protocols to protect the users and the company in general.
This is where Okta identity management can really shine. The cloud-based solution provides more efficient integration tools, streamlined identity and access management, strong security and a unified account. With all these capabilities, improving collaboration and productivity can be achieved without sacrificing security.
Give customers peace of mind
If you are a company that provides some type of web service, your customers depend on you to keep their personal data safe and secure. With Okta identity and access management, you have the power to give your customers peace of mind in knowing your service is protected by the most modern security and authentication technologies.
The solution also ensures compliance to privacy standards and the centralization of all customer data.
Faster and more seamless integrations
Companies and organizations face a number of challenges in many of their business processes, including those related to IT. A few of these challenges can have a negative impact on the making and closing of deals.
With Okta’s directory integration capabilities and seamless integration with other third-party data resources, you can be certain that your identity and access management is always reliable and on point, regardless of the number of users or their location.
Okta Pricing
Okta’s pricing model is less about tiers or plans and more about the number of users and the features available in the different products they offer. Okta Identity Cloud pricing starts at $2 per user for Workforce Identity SSO and $3 per user for Workforce Identity MFA. The listed price for Universal Directory and API Access Management is $2 per user.
Lifecycle Management starts at $4, Advanced Server Access starts at $15 and Access Gateway is listed at $3. All of which are priced on a per-user, per-month basis. The vendor requires a $1500 annual minimum contract and there are volume discounts available for the Workforce Identity products exclusive to Enterprise customers with more than 5000 users.
Visit the official Okta website for more information about their products and pricing.
Conclusion
Okta is an on-demand identity and access management for all your web services and applications. It allows organizations to initiate a secure deployment of web apps and services a lot quicker and with confidence. While Okta is a good investment for sure, it is not cheap. You have to be serious about utilizing the service and its products and making the most out of them if you want to maximize your ROI.
