What is our primary use case?
A few use cases for Auth0 Platform include using it for authentications and authentication systems and security for good user experience in terms of logging in and logging out into the system and for security itself.
In terms of how I use Auth0 Platform for login flows, once I have the data using the OAuth systems, it is able to come in and come out without having to log in, type in the same passwords or username or having to start the entire process again, which makes it frustrating and does not provide a good user experience.
The main benefits that I have seen from using Auth0 Platform include the fact that above all, for instance, yesterday I was assigned to a UK company that I am supposed to plan the infrastructure for the system that they are coming to do. I was to plan the security compliance and all of that for it. One thing that I would say helped with the planning, with my knowledge of Auth0 Platform, is the fact that security-wise, I am able to configure user data with the limited information that a system is required to use. For instance, I usually use name and email or, for this instance, I want to be using the phone number. With the data that I want to use to validate the person, I have Auth0 Platform to help with the improvement of the security from the streams, how the person uses their data on my platform. I think that also gives the user a good experience. Usually, people get frustrated with consistently having to log in into the system, but with it, I have a more flexible user experience that makes it easier for people to visit my system. One other thing I would say is the SSO, the single sign-on, where you sign in once and that is a very good thing about Auth0 Platform. I would also say it is good for third-party integrations.
The way Auth0 Platform secures APIs, microservices, serverless applications, or containerized workloads in my cloud environment is through the security API integrations. OpenID and OIDC is what helps with the standardized way of validating users and authenticating them into my system. Integrating Auth0 Platform into my own API logic plus third-party integrations is where I serialize, and I have a serialization sequence that validates the user once, through the SSO system. I think it usually depends on the understanding of the engineer on the back end and how they integrate it with their API endpoints to make the experience seamless. Overall, it is easy to integrate with. My first time when I was integrating, I did not have much challenge. Where I had a challenge was where I had to do the cloud setup for the other third parties, but not with the code. Integration-wise, it is fine and easy to use.
The AWS services that I integrate with Auth0 Platform include S3, gateways, and Lambda. I use S3 for the cloud storage, then the rest for whatever they have to do.
The way Auth0 Platform supports my SaaS or multi-tenant architecture running on public cloud infrastructure is surprisingly seamless. All the systems I have been building recently are multi-tenant based, perhaps one or two systems. With multi-tenant integrations, I found it to be one of the seamless integrations I have ever done. Initially, having to manipulate JavaScript to do that requires a lot of code. However, I started with one tenant, an administrator and a customer, then I expanded it to business to business, then business branches, and then I invite members of each or add them back to the system. Configuring the multi-tenant systems on the back end is easy. I just follow the same sequence where I just have to use the business ID, user ID, and the tenant owner ID to just validate if it belongs to this business and if the user's access token is right, then I just give the user access the way I create the normal user in the system. The flow is seamless when I am using multi-tenant. I have used the multi-tenant in that regard for businesses, people, and branches. It was easy and I did not have any challenge on that branch of the workflow.
The industry or customer segment that my application serves is a vertical system. It is a vertical SaaS platform that is developing slowly into a classroom as a service. It serves all industries and is customized for Africa, because I am African. People are using fragmented systems to do their businesses and it does not really promote seamless business transactions and every data is elsewhere. I have a vertical SaaS that cuts across from finance to retail to manufacturing to wholesale to pharmaceuticals and then it continues from there.
What is most valuable?
The best features in Auth0 Platform include the authorization without sharing your password, the access tokens, and cookies, the way you use the cookies. Refresh tokens on the back end, for instance, when I am validating a user, I think when I use the normal custom approach, I always have to store the tokens in the local storage. Every time I go into the system, the new tokens are generated. With Auth0 Platform, for instance, I can use the cookies to set access tokens and refresh tokens where I give a lifespan based on how I set it. The person can constantly have access to the system without having to generate the tokens all the time over again when they log in. That puts a lot of latency and pressure on the back end and then the data flow within the CPU consumption.
These are what makes me appreciate Auth0 Platform. The refresh token, the access token, and the aspect with Google, signing in with Google for instance. I am a GitHub user, so I use GitHub constantly. When I use GitHub to sign in into Render, and I am going back into it for instance, it gives me access. I do not have to come and input all of those data again, but I am going in straightforward. The main benefits that I have seen from using Auth0 Platform include the fact that above all, when I was assigned to a UK company that I am supposed to plan the infrastructure for the system that they are coming to do, I was to plan the security compliance and all of that for it. One thing that I would say helped with the planning, with my knowledge of Auth0 Platform, is the fact that security-wise, I am able to configure user data with the limited information that a system is required to use. For instance, I usually use name and email or, for this instance, I want to be using the phone number. With the data that I want to use to validate the person, I have Auth0 Platform to help with the improvement of the security from the streams, how the person uses their data on my platform. I think that also gives the user a good experience. Usually, people get frustrated with consistently having to log in into the system, but with it, I have a more flexible user experience that makes it easier for people to visit my system. One other thing I would say is the SSO, the single sign-on, where you sign in once and that is a very good thing about Auth0 Platform. I would also say it is good for third-party integrations.
What needs improvement?
Regarding improvements or enhancements in Auth0 Platform, if there is anything I would say they should improve, AI has advanced and technology has taken a very big turn, but there is limited education on it. People make a lot of noise about it, but there is limited education on how to use this system. People make noise about AI and we do not know how to use it. Perhaps much more education on how people can actually go about using these systems would be helpful. Or, for instance, if I am a non-tech person or something, but then all of a sudden I find myself in that space with the way AI has advanced, how do I use it? Education, really, is what I would say is needed.
From the features perspective, functionality-wise, when it comes to missing features that I would like to see included or maybe enhanced in Auth0 Platform, I do not think I would add any. All the functionalities, for me as a technical person and how I would think about them, are already integrated. The fact that I can go back to my former login and I do not have to repeat the cycle again, but it is already taking me into it without me having to input the details. From the technical perspective, I am fine with it. Maybe I have not thought about any other improvements that would need to be added, but then currently, in my state, I am okay.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Auth0 Platform for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
When it comes to crashes, downtimes, or performance issues with Auth0 Platform, I would not say it caused them. I did have an issue with a system that crashed because of CPU consumption, but I would not attribute it to Auth0 Platform because it was bad tech configurations on our side. The endpoints were running much more than was needed. We had to adjust what we call tech debt. We had to come and adjust and then reduce the CPU consumption. I would not attribute it to Auth0 Platform that caused it, but it was our configurations that were consuming a lot of CPU. In terms of crashes, I have had my own experience with crashes. It taught us a lot to rectify the situation, but we learned from it. It was not the system, it was us who did the configurations wrong.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of scalability with Auth0 Platform, it is very scalable because for multi-tenant systems, I am able to expand the scope of what I do from one tenant to, for instance, one-to-many, many-to-many, and all of that. I do not have a problem with scaling. Maybe I do not know because my systems have not gotten to that extent to maybe see the performance or how it works under pressure, but from a code perspective and working on it, there was not any challenge at all.
How are customer service and support?
I have not escalated any questions to Auth0 Platform regarding customer service.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Regarding which other solutions I evaluated before choosing Auth0 Platform, I used Kloc, I think. I used it so that it helps with the state management, but then it was not as smooth. There was a lot of configurations I needed to do before I was able to do all of that. I used other state management solutions, a few of them before I finally landed on Auth0 Platform.
When it comes to the key differences, both pros and cons of Auth0 Platform in comparison to other identity management products that I have used, for me, advantage one, Auth0 Platform is seamless and the configuration is okay. I do not need to do a lot to use Auth0 Platform. The other identity management systems, even though they make a noise about it being good and it is actually good to work with, the configurations are quite heavy. I do not have much to say on that, but I feel Auth0 Platform is quite easy to use than the other ones. That is the best way I can put it.
How was the initial setup?
The overall initial setup experience with Auth0 Platform is that my first time, I think to every integration with every new system, it is a try and error approach when it is my first time. Even though I read the documentations and get understanding on how it is implemented, my first time I definitely face a challenge. The more I keep using it and the more the system expands and the more I get familiar with it, integration becomes a normal thing I do every other day. Depending on the logic and how vast the system is and how I want it to be configured, I also have to adapt and then think in that regard. Integrating it for the first time is a try and error thing where every developer goes through that phase. It was not a new thing, so it was not a challenge. It was even easier than some other integrations I do. Once I do it, I get to grasp the concept on how it is done. I just have to adjust the concept to suit the skills of what I am coming to do. It was easy.
What was our ROI?
The measurable improvements I have seen in scalability, security, or developer velocity within my cloud environment since implementing Auth0 Platform include the fact that initially using the normal way of authenticating people into a system takes a bit longer. For instance, if you are using 500 milliseconds, one of the things I would say about Auth0 Platform is it reduces the time, the seconds by which the authentication processes go fast. I would attribute it to the fact that there is improvement because authenticating people into a system takes a few seconds, knowing that connecting to the databases and because everything is on the cloud and it is connected, it makes it easier for me to integrate and authenticate somebody into a system. The time, the latency periods have been reduced drastically. On that aspect, there is improvement.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The experience with the pricing aspect of Auth0 Platform is that when it comes to pricing, I would make reference to AWS, it is pay as you go. The number of things I use is what I pay for. On that regard, it is good. It is quite expensive but security-wise, I am secured. I know that my data and my information are well protected. I feel that it is better as a startup and to the experts also, it is better to invest into what will make you secure than to not invest into what causes you pain. When your data gets breached, you are coming to invest double the money you would have invested into what could have kept you safe. When it comes to pricing and systems, from my understanding, I feel that it is better to invest the right cost than to come and double the investment because of security breaches or something.
What other advice do I have?
One piece of advice or recommendation that I would share with other organizations considering Auth0 Platform is that security is very important. In as much as in Ghana, for instance, the awareness is limited, security is very important to a system. When your security is not good and it has been breached, it costs you a lot to rectify it, more than you would spend to have a very good security system. Organizations should really be intentional about using systems like Auth0 Platform to be able to implement good security infrastructures to secure their systems, like the RBAC solutions and all of those things.
When it comes to using Auth0 Platform to secure AI-powered, GenAI, or agent-based applications, I have not done any of that yet.
My overall review rating for Auth0 Platform is 8.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)