Okta: identity for the internet
Before the Covid-19 crisis enterprise IT was focusing on transitioning to the cloud. Now, IT leaders cite secure employee access as their primary focus, thanks largely to an explosion in remote working. “One of the scariest parts of the quick switch to remote work is the need to move quickly and securely,” says Brock Dooling, Partner Alliances Engineer at Okta. “Data breaches are on the rise this year as bad actors take advantage of vulnerable IT environments in flux.” Okta is a trusted platform to secure every identity, from customers to workforce. More than 10,000 organizations trust Okta’s software and APIs to sign in, authorize, and manage users. As Dooling puts it: “Employees, customers, consumers need to trust your technology in order to trust your company and your brand. We believe that putting trust at the core of everything we do is the only way technology will reach its full potential.”
Getting identity right is really important – but complicated. Clients can use Okta to enable their users to sign in with a username/password or with their social accounts like Google or Facebook using pre-built sign-in components from Okta. “After the user has signed in, you can retrieve their user profile to customize the UI based on their role. You can use Okta to secure your APIs and application backends so that only authorized users and applications can call them. With Okta clients can use their existing stack to build sign in, protect their APIs and move on with their lives!”
That message is not lost on Okta's partners. Recently the CTO of lifecycle managed services provider Presidio Dave Trader told us: “Okta has been a huge help in managing secure user authentication, while allowing developers to build identity controls into applications, website web services and devices.” He frequently suggests Okta for its ability to support, at scale, major security platforms such as Cisco Duo. “At Okta, we believe that if you want to go far, you go together,” confirms Dooling. As a leading North American IT solutions provider focused on digital infrastructure, business analytics, cloud, security & emerging solutions, it makes sense to partner with Presidio. We want partners like Presidio that have a similar vision and have significant impact in the marketplace.”
Password access is notoriously vulnerable, so automation of user authentication is at the top of the developers' agenda. Okta FastPass is already delivering passwordless login using default authentication implemented through biometric capabilities, rather than only by user-specific certifications. “It enables passwordless authentication into anything you need to get your work done, on any device, with no dependency on Active Directory join or a specific enterprise mobility management (EMM)or mobile device management (MDM) provider. Clients will be able to log in from any device or location to any Okta-managed app.”
On March 4 2021 Okta acquired a complementary authorization platform. It will continue to support and expand Auth0, with a view to eventual integration. “Together, we will shape the future of identity on the internet,” promises Brock Dooling The choice, flexibility, and value we’ll offer customers will be amazing: Okta and Auth0 address a broad set of identity use cases, and our identity platforms are robust and extensible enough to serve the world’s largest organizations and most innovative developers.”
