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Okta Delivers New Identity Offerings to Power Cloud-Based Services
Jive Software and Advent Software Among Cloud Service Providers Using Okta to Address Range of Identity-Related Needs for Innovative Cloud Offerings
February 21, 2014
5 Min Read
PRESS RELEASE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Feb. 20, 2014 – Today, Okta announced enhanced functionality that enables software providers to address identity management challenges associated with the delivery of their own cloud-based services. Advent Software (NASDAQ: ADVS) and Jive Software (NASDAQ: JIVE) are among leading companies leveraging Okta as an embedded component to accelerate customer adoption, increase security, and reduce time to market. By using Okta's rich set of APIs, native user store, and pre-built integration to on-premises directories, organizations can now manage user access to their products through Okta and provide customers, partners and administrators with a consistent, secure experience across entire product suites.
"This is a compelling and highly strategic use case of our service that is relevant both to traditional and non-traditional software providers looking to grow their business through the cloud," said Todd McKinnon, CEO of Okta. "In addressing a very complex and critical component of the modern product stack, we're not only helping our customers rapidly deploy new business and customer engagement models, but also taking an important step in our mission to securely connect any combination of people, applications, devices, and organizations."
A Comprehensive Identity Platform
The Okta platform now addresses many identity-related issues specific to the development and delivery of cloud-based applications. These include the ability to integrate to customer and partner directories, create a core directory that centrally manages users and applications, as well as deliver a unified experience through single sign-on, user provisioning and federation. Enhancements include:
Embeddable Directory Integration: Okta's integration with Microsoft Active Directory or LDAP can be automatically configured in conjunction with any cloud-based application, giving customers a seamless way to securely connect the application to their on-premises directory.
Okta's Cloud Directory: Okta's Cloud Directory can be embedded to store users and credentials. Using the Okta API, customers can create, read, update or delete any data in the directory, and manage processes such as password resets, seamlessly. Developers can easily manage users by organization, providing an added layer of security and customizable user experience for each customer.
Provisioning APIs: Once users are in the directory, Okta can be used to provision and de-provision users across multiple products or embedded applications, allowing tiers of users and their access to be managed based on subscription or other factors.
Programmatic Access to Single Sign-On: Okta creates a single point of authentication to provide a seamless user experience across entire product portfolios. Vendors gain a single view of customer usage across all applications, whether on-premise, dedicated instance-hosted, multi-tenant SaaS, or third-party SaaS, SaaS.
B2B Federation: Okta enables software providers to easily accept federation (such as SAML) from their customers for a wide variety of identity providers. It provides the functionality to enable federation for cloud service providers, and to manage a large number of customers requiring federation.
Many software providers are leveraging elements of this new Okta functionality to address a variety of identity challenges related to their cloud offerings, including Jive Software and Advent Software.
Jive Software Embeds Okta to Provide Seamless Directory Integration
Jive, a leader in social business, is embedding Okta's directory integration into its SaaS offering to provide enterprise customers with an integrated capability to connect their on-premise directory to Jive.
"Enterprises often face the challenge of integrating directories across the firewall to new cloud solutions," said Christopher Morace, chief strategy officer, Jive Software. "We saw many of our customers using Okta and it was clear they were becoming a leader in solving this pain point in the industry. By embedding Okta in Jive Cloud deployments, we are solving a significant problem and giving our customers a seamless solution that increases security and accelerates the adoption of our service."
Advent Software Selects Okta as Identity Layer Across Products, Including New Cloud Platform Advent Direct™ and Advent Direct™ Community
Advent Software is a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry. Advent works with more than 4,400 client firms in nearly 60 countries – from established global institutions to small start-up firms – to help them grow their business and thrive. Advent technology helps firms minimize risk, work together seamlessly and discover new opportunities. In building new cloud-based solutions, including its newest platform called Advent Direct™, the company sought out a cloud-based software provider to create a consistent, single point of entry for all users, regardless of the identity infrastructures users already have in place and where their application data is housed.
Advent has implemented Okta as the identity layer for users of Advent Direct™ Community, the company's online client portal, and will continue to roll it out on Advent Direct™, as well as on multiple on-premise and hosted applications. Okta's Inbound Federation and Directory Integration capabilities will be used by Advent to enable client access to Advent with a client's own corporate credentials.
In adopting Okta, Advent is making it easier for its clients worldwide to use their applications. With Okta, the user experience is Advent-branded, making the authentication layer across products and community seamless and invisible to clients, while being powered by Okta's zero-downtime cloud architecture.
"We are excited to be working with Okta to provide our clients with a single point of entry for our solutions," said Todd Gottula, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Advent Software. "This relationship will enable our thousands of clients to manage their Advent product users beyond the firewall and with one central point of administration. Our collaboration with Okta also helps support our expanding global footprint by ensuring a consistent user experience for all of our clients."
For more information about these new Okta enhancements, please visit http://www.okta.com/problems-we-solve/identity-layer-for-web-and-saas-apps.html.
About Okta
Okta is an enterprise-grade identity management service, built from the ground up in the cloud and designed to address the challenges of a cloud, mobile and interconnected business world. Okta integrates with existing directories and identity systems, as well as thousands of on-premises, cloud-based and mobile applications, to enable IT to securely manage access anywhere, anytime and from any device.
More than 700 enterprises, including Allergan, LinkedIn, MGM Resorts International, Western Union and SAP, use Okta to increase security and employee productivity, as well as lower IT costs and improve compliance. The hundreds of enterprises, thousands of cloud application vendors and millions of people using Okta today also form the foundation for the industry's first Enterprise Identity Network. Okta is backed by premier venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures and Sequoia Capital. To learn more about Okta, visit: http://www.okta.com.
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