Okta and IBM Security Services are Helping the World’s Largest Organizations Move to the Cloud

Every organization is becoming a technology company as the cloud has changed everything. And the past few weeks have made it clear that change is inevitable. From enabling remote workforce productivity, to enhancing customer experiences, modern companies recognize the need to keep innovating. According to Gartner, by the year 2022, enterprise spending on cloud-based offerings will eclipse that of on-premises IT products.

As organizations transition from on-prem environments, to hybrid or cloud-based solutions, they are faced with a number of challenges when balancing security with the customer or user experience. Now, in partnership with IBM Security Services, Okta is empowering these organizations to thrive, as they navigate their digital transformations, by enabling them to securely adopt any technology.

IBM has always sat at the intersection of business and technology, and has worked closely with many of the world’s largest organizations as they journey to the cloud. Identity is core to this transition, and our partnership allows IBM Security Services to extend its end-to-end consulting and managed services for IDaaS platforms to the Okta Identity Cloud. Together, we can deliver customized identity solutions to organizations to address their complex identity challenges.

A successful security solution combines people, process, and technology. IBM Security Services can provide the following added services and solutions to existing managed services and new security services Okta customers:

• End-to-end solution: In addition to product and professional services, IBM Security Services can provide strategy, roadmap and implementation, and adoption processes to help customers reduce complexity and accelerate ROI.
• Customization: Using Enterprise Design Thinking principles, which is the framework IBM Security Services uses to collaborate, align teams and form intent to solve users’ problems, customers can receive customized packages focused on providing specific functional outcomes.
• Optimization of Investments: IBM Security Services can provide customers with the ability to optimize existing technology investments by coupling the Okta Identity Cloud with current deployed solutions in a way that fits their unique organizational requirements.
• Accelerated Adoption: IBM Security Services professionals can help provide an accelerated pace of integration and user adoption using prioritized, continuous asset onboarding.
• Potential to Reduce Costs: Customers will have the opportunity to lower infrastructure costs—including the ongoing maintenance and licensing costs of on-premises solutions—as part of their ongoing work with IBM Security Services.

As Chris Esemplare, VP and GM of IBM Global Security Services said, "we pride ourselves on being strategic and trusted providers for our clients around the world. In order to provide the highest value, we team with organizations that can provide our clients with the technologies they need to help them be successful. We’ve seen a lot of interest in Okta from our customers as they make their cloud transformations and we’re excited to formalize the partnership to provide our joint customers with the technology to help secure their organizations and solve their identity needs.”

IBM and Okta have a front row view of the trends driving cloud adoption amongst the most successful companies, many of which have played a key role in our partnership:

• Best-of-breed: Organizations are increasingly purchasing best-of-breed applications. According to Okta’s Businesses @ Work report, application adoption is growing across the board, with the average number of apps per organization reaching 88, up from 83 apps a year ago, with 10% of the organizations deploying 200 apps or more. With Okta, IBM Security Services clients will be able to leverage the Okta Integration Network, which includes 6,500+ pre-built integrations with cloud and on-prem systems, making best-of-breed a reality.
• Explosion of IoT: According to NCTA, the number of connected devices is expected to grow to 50 billion in 2020, up from 8.7 billion in 2012. Along with this proliferation comes new challenges for established companies, suddenly tasked with securing these devices, the data they contain, and how their users can access them. Okta’s newly debuted Platform Services, including Okta Devices, enable organizations to ingest endpoint device signals and context, creating a foundation that could lead to broader IoT applications.
• Security threats: With the growth of remote work, new tools and access points, many organizations can no longer enforce security using a network perimeter. They must manage access across a variety of users, networks, and devices, with people – and their identities – at the center as this new, multipronged perimeter. Okta provides the foundation to help organizations build a Zero Trust strategy and model in this new world where the mantra is “never trust, always verify.”

To learn more about the partnership, join us for Oktane20 LIVE. I’ll be chatting with Chris Esemplare, VP and GM, IBM Global Security Services about how we’re working together to empower our clients with the best technology. Register here.