Forest City on #Oktane15: The Perfect Place to Connect and Learn
Next up on our Oktane15 customer series, Kim Fuhrer, IT security analyst at real estate management and development company Forest City Enterprises, gives us some tips and tricks for navigating Oktane and what she's most looking forward to at this year's event.
I have been working with Okta since my first week as an IT security analyst at Forest City Enterprises (NYSE: FCE.A). I had already been employed with Forest City for a few years as a business systems analyst but was looking for a new challenge, so I took advantage of an opportunity to transfer to the IT security department. As soon as I transferred, we kicked off our project to implement single sign-on.
At the time, Forest City had already selected Okta, and the implementation project kick-off meeting was just a few days after my official transfer. Having no idea what SAML meant, or how SSO worked, I became the Okta administrator and was charged with implementing SSO for as many of our applications as possible. The Okta team guided me through the entire project and taught me a lot along the way! Our implementation was successful, and I have been adding new apps to our portal ever since.
An Okta Family Affair
Last year, I was lucky enough to attend Oktane14 and was able meet many of the awesome people who help me solve integration problems and answer any question I throw their way. I love that so many of the Okta employees attend Oktane, giving me the opportunity to put a face to a name – and ask a few technical questions on the spot! All of Okta's events are exciting, but their team really puts in a great deal of effort to host an awesome conference.
(Tip: Don't miss the party on Tuesday night!)
Customers First
My favorite thing about Oktane (well, Okta in general) is that it is all about the customers. Since my very first experience with Okta, I have been impressed with their involvement and interactions with me, even after go-live. Okta does not just help you implement and then disappear – they remain involved and keep you up-to-date on all the new features. Oktane is the perfect place to chat with the experts and find new ways to make your implementation even better.
The Nitty Gritty Details
At Oktane, there are so many opportunities to really get into the technical aspects of the product with sessions that include deep dive discussions, hands-on labs and, of course, the Okta Expert Bar. Okta wants to make sure you have multiple opportunities to try out new features so you can really understand how to apply them to your own environment. It is nice to see that it's not just a big sales pitch; it's an opportunity to find new ways to get more out of your implementation. Last year at the Okta Expert Bar I was able to solve an issue I was having with my AD import and turn on a new beta feature in a matter of minutes.
More Than Single Sign-On
Now that I have been working with Okta for over two years, I am amazed at how much more they can do than just single sign-on. I'm really looking forward to Oktane as a way to catch up on the most recent features (I barely get a chance to read the release notes before more features are introduced!), listen to interesting use cases and see how I can apply these new features to my own implementation. Oktane is a great environment to meet other customers who may have a similar use case but implemented in a really unique way. Plus, who doesn't want to see Bill Nye the Science Guy?!
Since I know the team has been prepping for Oktane15 since BEFORE Oktane14 even began, I think this will be the best Oktane yet!
P.S. I'm also pretty excited to book some time at the Aria's spa with the gift card I won last month from the #Oktane15 Twitter contest!