Item: Google Cloud Identity
Rating: 8
Author: Yo Nakajima

Overall Satisfaction with Google Cloud Identity

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Prior to 2020, we had been using a cloud service other than Google for identity management for the services we provided. We wanted to implement two-factor authentication as part of our security enhancements, but the cloud platform we were using was slow to support it, so we decided to use Google Cloud Identity.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Two-factor authentication available.
The Google authentication method is familiar to many users.
It is expected that it will also support authentication methods that will become common in the future.

Cons

This time, I investigated it in advance, and it worked as expected, so I don't have any specific ideas for improvement.
Additionally, if we were using another IDAAS, it would have been beneficial to have knowledge on how to integrate it with Google tools, along with some relevant case studies.

Return on Investment

From a business perspective, there were two steps.
First, we switched from our in-house ID management system to a cloud service. This allowed us to focus our development resources on application development.
At the same time, we were able to localize the handling of personal information, which resulted in increased efficiency in management aspects, including handling external inquiries, and in the development of encryption.
The second step was adding Google Cloud Identity as an option.
This allows more users to easily use our services. It can be said that this has improved user convenience.
I expect Google to accommodate future changes in authentication requirements, such as biometric authentication.

Usability

I chose Google because I thought it would be the best fit, but I didn't fully consider other cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, etc.), so I rated it 8. We assume that current Japanese users are familiar with Google, because we feel that there are far more people with Google email addresses than those with IDs on other cloud services.

Alternatives Considered

IBM Cloud Functions

We adopted Google Cloud Identity as an additional feature because it allowed us to integrate with it using multi-factor authentication. The IBM Cloud platform remains valid, and we have no plans to discontinue its use for identity management. From the user's perspective, we simply added more authentication options. This also ensures we are prepared for future use when multi-factor authentication becomes available for user apps on the IBM Cloud.

Key Insights

Do you think Google Cloud Identity delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Google Cloud Identity's feature set?

Yes

Did Google Cloud Identity live up to sales and marketing promises?

Did implementation of Google Cloud Identity go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Google Cloud Identity again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Google Workspace, Microsoft 365

Likelihood to Recommend

For example, if the system you are building is a general application service that does not primarily focus on ID management, it would be wise to use a service like Google's rather than developing your own IDaaS. While there may be cases where an IDaaS other than Google's is acceptable, Google is likely one of the best solutions when considering user recognition and ease of use. On the other hand, Gmail addresses are commonly used for other purposes, and users may not pay much attention to password management, so you should avoid using them for systems that require security. To strengthen security, you should consider making multi-factor authentication mandatory, etc.

Google Cloud Identity Feature Ratings

Comments

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One of the best ID management services.

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