Okta

Since its founding in 2009 and the merger with Auth0 in 2021, Okta has established itself as one of the leading independent Identity Providers for enterprises around the world.

Okta places customer and workforce identities at the center of everything it does. Organizations are empowered to provide their customers, employees, and partners with secure access to applications and systems at all times — while maintaining high usability and a positive user experience.

With the acquisition of Auth0 in 2021, Okta significantly expanded its portfolio with additional capabilities in Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM). In 2023, the acquisition of Spera followed, enabling Okta to build targeted expertise in Identity Threat Detection and Response and deepen its security architecture. Finally, in 2025, Okta strengthened its offering with the acquisition of Axiom Security, adding a full-fledged Privileged Access Management solution and closing a strategically important gap in its identity security portfolio.

Central to all Okta solutions are flexibility and freedom of choice. Okta enables every user — from developers to decision-makers in global enterprises — to assemble and use their own tech stack individually and optimally. The platform operates independently of device, location, or technology and integrates seamlessly into existing IT landscapes. Okta supports organizations in implementing Identity & Access Management in a future-proof, scalable, and technology-agnostic way.

The Okta platform covers two core use cases: Customer Identity and Workforce Identity. Both solutions are based on a unified, cloud-native architecture and can be flexibly adapted to individual business requirements.

In the area of Customer Identity, Okta helps organizations provide secure and seamless login and registration processes for web and mobile applications. The solution is designed for high user volumes and enables the management of millions of customer identities. Security features help reduce identity theft, account takeovers, fraud attempts, and unauthorized access.

Thanks to flexible APIs and SDKs, Okta can be quickly integrated into existing applications. Authentication processes can be individually tailored to match your brand and desired user experience. At the same time, built-in security features reliably protect against identity theft, fraud, and account takeovers.

Typical features in the Customer Identity area:

•  Secure registration and login for customers
• Scalable login for web and mobile applications
• Social login and passwordless authentication
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) for customer portals
• Branding and custom login experiences
• APIs and SDKs for development teams
• Protection against account takeover and identity misuse
• Integration into marketing, CRM, and service platform

Workforce Identity – Secure Access for Employees and Partners

With the Workforce Identity solution, Okta enables secure and convenient access to enterprise applications for employees, external partners, and suppliers. Via Single Sign-On (SSO), users log in once and gain access to all authorized systems. This is complemented by Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and adaptive access controls that make context-aware security decisions.

In addition, Okta automates Identity Lifecycle Management by centrally creating, updating, and deactivating user accounts. This reduces manual administrative effort, improves security, and helps organizations meet compliance requirements more efficiently. Access is available anytime and from anywhere — without compromising control or transparency.

Typical features in the Workforce Identity area:

• Single Sign-On for cloud, SaaS, and enterprise applications
• Adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication
• Lifecycle management for employees, partners, and external users
• Automated provisioning and deprovisioning
• Centralized policies for access and authentication
• Integration into HR, ITSM, security, and cloud systems
• Support for Zero Trust architectures
• Supporting Zero Trust initiatives
• Securing privileged access
• Integration of identity processes into ITSM, HR, security, and cloud systems

Identity is a central component of modern security architectures. Organizations need to be able to track at any time who is accessing which applications, systems, and data. Okta helps organizations design access in a controlled, transparent, and compliant manner.

Through centralized authentication, multi-factor authentication, lifecycle management, and adaptive access controls, security risks can be reduced and compliance requirements can be better met. This is particularly relevant for regulated industries such as financial services, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, energy supply, or public sector organizations.

With the expanded capabilities from the acquisitions of Spera Security and Axiom Security, Okta further strengthens its position in identity security. Organizations can not only manage access but also better identify, assess, and reduce identity-related risks.

Okta positions itself as an independent and technology-agnostic identity provider. The platform is not tied to a specific ecosystem and can therefore be flexibly integrated into diverse IT landscapes.

Key differentiators include:

• Independent identity platform for heterogeneous IT environments
• Strong coverage of both Workforce Identity and Customer Identity
• Developer-friendly CIAM capabilities through Auth0
• Extensive integrations with SaaS, cloud, and enterprise applications
• Adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication and context-based access control
• Cloud-native architecture with high scalability
• Extended capabilities in Identity Threat Detection and Privileged Access Management
• Strong fit for Zero Trust and cloud transformation programs

Okta is particularly well suited for organizations that want to retain freedom of choice in terms of technologies, applications, and infrastructure. The platform can be integrated into Microsoft-centric, Google, AWS, SaaS, on-premises, or hybrid environments, supporting flexible identity strategies.

Okta's licensing model is based on a cloud-based subscription and is flexibly designed for different use cases.

For employees and partners (Workforce Identity), licensing is typically per user, supplemented by freely combinable feature packages. For external users and customers (Customer Identity), Okta is licensed on a usage-based model per monthly active identities.

This allows organizations to tailor the scope of features and costs precisely to their needs and implement their identity strategy in a scalable way.

Which operating models does Okta support?

Okta is provided as a cloud-native identity platform. Organizations benefit from a scalable, highly available, and continuously evolving solution without having to operate a complex local IAM infrastructure.

At the same time, Okta can be integrated into hybrid IT landscapes. Existing directory services, legacy applications, cloud platforms, SaaS solutions, HR systems, ITSM tools, and security components can all be connected. This makes Okta suitable both for organizations with a modern cloud strategy and for those looking to gradually modernize existing systems.

With the acquisition of identic group AG by IPG in 2025 and the merger in 2026, IPG assumed the long-standing Okta partnership as legal successor. This gives IPG direct access to the Okta partner ecosystem and enables it to build on established expertise, project experience, and market knowledge.

For customers, this means a powerful combination of Okta expertise, IAM experience, and IPG consulting capabilities. IPG supports organizations in the evaluation, architecture, implementation, and ongoing development of Okta solutions — in both Workforce Identity and Customer Identity environments.

Are you looking to introduce Okta in your organization, modernize your existing identity landscape, or further develop Workforce Identity and Customer Identity?

IPG supports you with the evaluation, architecture, implementation, and operation of modern Okta solutions. Contact us for a consultation, a product demo, or a quick check of your existing IAM and CIAM architecture.