What is Single Sign-On? What the Okta Scale means for users ?

Okta is an on-demand identity and access management service that enables enterprises to accelerate the secure adoption of their web applications, both in the cloud and behind the firewall. Okta’s single sign-on (SSO) provides your end users a simple single-pane to login to hundreds of pre-integrated cloud services and SaaS apps like Salesforce, Google Apps, WebEx, SuccessFactors and Box.net

Okta has developed the Okta Scale – a measure of the overall manageability of a cloud application. They developed this initial scale based customer feedback around identity management requirements and thousands of engineering man-hours working across hundreds of business and consumer cloud applications. Companies can use the scale when they are evaluating new cloud applications they want to adopt. Every cloud application rates at least a 0 Okta because they enable basic login, along with user administration within the application itself. On the current scale, there are three additional levels of manageability.

Learn more about the benefits of Single Sign On from Okta

What are the benefits of the Okta Scale program for ISVs?

Cloud ISVs can use the scale to help ensure their applications continue to meet market demand. Every cloud application rates at least a 0 Okta because they enable basic login, along with user administration within the application itself. On the current scale, there are three additional levels of manageability on which we have evaluated cloud applications – focused primarily on their ability to meet enterprise customer requirements pertaining to identity management. A cloud application scores 1 Okta, when it supports one of these customer scenarios. Each additional level of support for customer scenarios scores an additional Okta point, with the highest Okta ranking today at 3. Okta customers deploy our service to accelerate the secure adoption and usage of their cloud applications.

When they deploy Okta, they also get more visibility into the different levels of manageability that are supported across their cloud applications.

That visibility into their current applications has given rise to a greater demand to understand and compare the manageability of both their current and potential new cloud applications.

How Do Your Apps Score?

Every cloud application rates at least a 0 Okta because they enable basic login, along with user administration within the application itself. On the current scale, there are three additional levels of manageability on which we have evaluated cloud applications – focused primarily on their ability to meet enterprise customer requirements pertaining to identity management.

A cloud application scores 1 Okta, when it supports one of these customer scenarios. Each additional level of support for customer scenarios scores an additional Okta point, with the highest Okta ranking today at 3.

Customer Requirement	Description
Ease of User Authentication	Enable end-users to login with a single set of credentials across all the applications, no applications specific credentials required. Eliminate end user password fatigue and IT resources dedicated to password reset.
Efficient and Secure User Management	Enable customers to improve security through centralized management of user permissions to control access. Increase user productivity through efficient application account creation by enabling provisioning, de-provisioning and on premise directory integration.
Audit and Compliance	Enable customers to address compliance initiatives with auditable and detailed reporting on user activities and permissions, providing the ability to answer “Who has access to what” at any point in time.

The initial Okta Scale addresses the pressing identity management requirements that customers have with their cloud applications today. Over time, we will expand the scale to address a broader set of customer scenarios associated with managing their cloud applications.