Okta

The identity standard

Enterprise identity cloud for workforce SSO, MFA, lifecycle management, and customer identity.

Our take

Okta is the independent identity cloud — the alternative to Microsoft's bundled Azure AD when you want best-in-class IAM without vendor lock-in. The 7,000+ app catalog (pre-built SAML/OIDC integrations) means most enterprise apps connect to Okta in minutes rather than weeks of custom integration. Adaptive MFA (device fingerprinting, location risk scoring) provides phishing-resistant authentication beyond basic TOTP. The Workforce Identity Cloud at $5/user/month gives full SSO + MFA + lifecycle management; Identity Governance adds access certification workflows for compliance requirements (SOC2, SOX). The cost comparison with Azure AD Premium: Microsoft bundles equivalent features into Microsoft 365 E3 ($36/user/month) — if you're already paying for M365, Azure AD P1/P2 is included, making standalone Okta hard to justify. Okta wins for multi-cloud, mixed-vendor environments where independence from Microsoft is strategic.

Product roadmap

Okta is rebuilding its infrastructure on a new identity platform after the 2023 security incidents, expanding Privileged Access Management, and building Okta AI (identity threat detection and automated remediation). The Customer Identity Cloud (Auth0, acquired 2021) is the developer identity platform growth driver.