Item: The Okta Identity Cloud
Rating: 9
Author: Kelsey van Haaster

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Okta is used globally at ThoughtWorks. It is our primary IDP and provides secure (SSO) access to more than 8000 technology consultants across the globe. Okta allows our employees to work from anywhere, at any time, via any device, and ensures a seamless consistent experience with a high degree of security.

Pros and Cons

Ease of integration for applications and services - low cost of doing business and deploying new applications.
Powerful and easy to use API supporting the development of automation.
Powerful policy engine that allows us to accommodate for a variety of different access needs.

We'd like to see the ability to have configuration as code for our tenant.
The ability to create customized (more granular) admin roles.
Better group (group rules) management functionality.

Return on Investment

Prior to implementing Okta, more than 30% of our IT support requests were related to IAM, now such requests are a rarity.
Combined with other innovations, onboarding, and providing application access to new employees is completed on day one.
Our ability to move entirely to the cloud has meant significant savings in infrastructure and support.

Independent Platform

When considering a new application or technology, we are not constrained by our IDP and can focus on identifying the best tool for our needs.

Customer First Team

Okta's customer support is generally excellent; they have been instrumental in helping us decommission legacy infrastructure, develop automation, and resolve issues when they have arisen. We frequently have the opportunity to provide feedback.

Reliability

Our consultants value being able to work with their clients to solve their client's problems. Okta's reliability is key in allowing them to focus on this work rather than having to worry about getting access to the systems and services they need.

Likelihood to Recommend

Okta is great for ease of set up, there is a low barrier to entry for organizations not using an IDP at all, it is straightforward to roll out and customize. The ability to spin up and use a development environment free of charge is a win, as well as the ability to customize the end-user experience. Okta is less strong in a scenario where internet access is a challenge, there is no ability to host your own version, which could be a challenge for some organizations.

Okta allows us to focus on our real jobs, rather than getting to our real jobs.

Software Version

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with The Okta Identity Cloud