What is our primary use case?
I have implemented a number of applications as far as accessing them through their IDPs. And they're an identity provider; they also provide some alternative active directory slash l dash services. And I have purchased those for getting user data onto other systems.
It's very straightforward. The automation that they have and the way that they let you assign applications to groups or to users and do things dynamically, it is very straightforward other than just that there's a lot of nuance because of the breadth of applications out there that they can work with. It's more a matter of knowing how to work with the security mechanisms in place, such as SAML or OAuth, these may require specific expertise.
What is most valuable?
As far as our security team is concerned, the ease of implementing multifactor authentication is definitely the biggest value for our organization. Additionally, the single sign-on services provided by Okta allow users to log in to their Okta account and access a variety of other applications. That's why we implemented Connect to leverage this feature more efficiently across MacOS.
What needs improvement?
There are areas for improvement. One thing that seems odd to me is the lack of a built-in way to export all user data. They have a solution available on GitHub that they basically endorse, and it's developed internally, but for some reason, it's not integrated into their product. So, that's a peculiar aspect.
Instead, the support says they don't offer it but provide an alternative solution that we have to manage separately. So, it's a situation where they don't want to include it in their product, but they offer assistance outside of it? It's unclear what kind of support you would need for it. It just works.
Another area of improvement is scalability.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Okta for two and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Okta is pretty stable. Occasionally, we encounter notifications indicating some issues, but that has happened only once or twice in the two years I've been using it.
There have been situations where our own users were temporarily affected by disruptions in the cloud, but those incidents lasted only for a couple of hours. Taking into account a 99.9% uptime SOA.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate its scalability seven out of ten. There are definitely challenges we encounter, not related to the number of users but rather in terms of implementing various applications. Each application we work with can be completely different, resulting in highly variable implementation processes.
It ultimately depends on the specific use cases you have and the tools you utilize. It's important to find the best solution tailored to your needs.
We have around 500 users utilizing Okta Customer Identity.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is fairly easy. I would estimate it to be at least an eight in terms of ease of setup.
The actual setup and configuration can be done in half a day or less. However, the main challenge lies in communicating with users and getting them to adopt and use it, rather than the technical setup itself.
It's more about informing everyone about the new requirement, that instead of logging in to each application separately, they can now log in to the Identity Provider (IDP) and utilize its Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities to simplify the login process for all applications.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Okta's pricing is right where it needs to be and right in the middle of the market. You can pay them extra for services for assistance in implementing certain applications. You can hire one of their engineers to work with you and ensure successful implementation.
And that's something worth considering because they have expertise in their product and can get the job done more efficiently. It's worth paying for their services to ensure the solution is implemented successfully rather than struggling internally and failing to get it done.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate Okta a nine out of ten because there is always room for improvement. However, it is best in class as far as doing the things it does. And it's something that I've implemented with multiple businesses.
And it's really well-regarded. Yes. There are alternatives out there. Like, they all do somewhat different in each thing, whereas Okta seems to really be trying to cover all the bases as far as providing solutions that integrate with people's OSBAP, people's active directory, companies that wanna get serverless, touching on, the zero test network security that they're really kind of playing in the center of that zone.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
*Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
