Integration Spotlight: Okta + Microsoft
Okta and Microsoft share thousands of common customers, and millions of common users. Countless have approached us with questions on Okta’s integrations and partnership with Microsoft.
“Will Okta work with my Microsoft Windows 10?”
“Should I buy Azure AD Premium to get some of the newer security features?”
Or, “How can I justify spending on an identity solution when it comes bundled in for free with my Enterprise Agreement?”
We live in an era where people are the new perimeter. Cloud apps are mainstream, and superior technologies win out over monolithic architectures from single vendors. Customers going through IT modernisation need their legacy technologies and applications to work with their modern cloud technologies and applications. Identity, if done right, can serve as the bridge between old and new. All ease of use, scalability, automation, and productivity gains we expect from modernisation depend on a future-proof identity architecture. That’s why choosing an identity architecture should not be an afterthought. A half-baked identity solution shouldn’t be given a hall pass just because it is thrown in for free.
Most customers choose Okta for identity because it is great for Microsoft and any other cloud or on-premises technology. Okta offers an open network that integrates with Microsoft solutions, and over 5,000 other applications. Developers can use our APIs to enable great customer experiences on the same Okta Identity Cloud.
The Most Popular App Used By Okta’s Customers
Microsoft Office 365 is the most popular app used by Okta’s customers, partly due to our unique integrations, which shorten deployment time, and simplify automation and management. Our goal for customers using any Microsoft technology is to make their lives easier. To that end, Okta offers a simpler way to integrate with Active Directory, and accelerate Microsoft deployments for products like Windows 10, Microsoft Office 365, Dynamics, Cloud App Security, Azure Information Protection, and more.
Some of the biggest challenges we see our customers face as they take on IT modernisation come from the complexity and security issues around managing on-premises identity for the cloud, enabling cloud access to services that will continue to be hosted on-premises, or finding the most efficient way to provision user identities into Azure Active Directory for Office 365. Enterprises sharing information with business partners and contractors need to automate access management while maintaining control over security. An example of a shared resource is on-premises SharePoint. Okta makes these and other common challenges easy to solve.
We Each Have our Advantages
Microsoft’s traditional advantage has been on creating enterprise software solutions. It is natural for Microsoft to offer their own identity and access management solution, like Oracle, Salesforce, Amazon, and Google. However, today best-of-breed isn’t a choice, but a necessity, thus customers need a vendor-neutral identity solution that integrates with all their technologies, applications, resources both in the cloud and on-premises.
Okta’s advantage is born of a narrower focus on identity for the cloud. One of the perks of being first in the market and an all time leader of cloud identity is that you get a battle hardened product that is very simple to use for any use case and can extend and grow with your organisation.
Going back to the commonly asked questions from our customers, here’s what we say.
Q: Does Okta support Windows 10?
A: Absolutely. See Okta + Windows 10 for more information:https://www.okta.com/partners/microsoft/windows-10/
Q: Should I buy Azure AD Premium to get newer security features like EMS Conditional Access?
A: Just use the free Azure AD license along with Okta’s own Contextual Access Management to get great security, visibility, and control over application access. See the Okta and Azure AD page for more information: https://www.okta.com/partners/microsoft/azure-active-directory/
Q: How can I justify spending on an identity solution when it comes bundled in for free with my Enterprise Agreement?
A: Before going with the bundle, consider the cost and time required for Active Directory integration using Microsoft instead of Okta. Using Okta allows you to deploy Microsoft faster, with no additional infrastructure, saving time and money in the long run. See Okta with AD and ADFS for more information: https://www.okta.com/partners/microsoft/ad-adfs/
Okta + Microsoft
We’re dedicated to building unique value added integrations with Microsoft technologies. Microsoft has validated Okta as part of the “Azure Active Directory Federation Compatibility List” and is a Gold Partner.
Our customers can get best of both worlds by taking advantage of what Okta offers for identity, to make the most of their investments in Microsoft.
To learn more, visit our Microsoft Integrations pages.
To learn more about how Okta manages the full identity lifecycle for Office 365, download the Office 365 Deployment TechGuide: Removing the Identity Barrier for Office 365 Migrations.