If your company utilizes Microsoft, Now is the time to look at identity management. The correct identity solution may assist upgrade old systems and applications for the cloud, as well as accelerating cloud adoption. Okta is often used by Microsoft clients to handle identification for their cloud applications. The following reasons why Microsoft Customers Choose Okta from Identityskills.
Simplified Active Directory Single Sign-On
Organizations that have made an investment in a directory service, such as Active Directory, wish to leverage it to provide Single Sign-On (SSO) to both on-premises. When properly designed, Single Sign-On removes the annoyance of having to establish and remember unique passwords for each application, while also improving the security of business data.
Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS), Azure AD Connect (formerly known as DirSync), Password Sync, Passthrough authentication, and Microsoft Identity Manager are all solutions provided by Microsoft to allow SSO via their Azure AD cloud service (previously Forefront Identity Manager). These technologies have steadily improved over time, but require deploying, configuring, and managing large server resources. Each service requires independent configuration and interaction with the Azure AD cloud service.
When customers learn they can implement SSO from Active Directory in considerably less time, they turn to Okta. Okta is a cloud-based identity and access management system that does not need users to choose between the simplicity of use and complete capability.
User Lifecycle Management that is Automated
There will always be users joining and leaving your company. It’s time for lifecycle management when IT claims they can’t handle user onboarding and offboarding using a checklist any longer. When new users join, they must have immediate access to the programs they demand. When they go, IT must quickly disable their access to everything.
Okta makes it simple to establish new user accounts for cloud apps and deploy them with the appropriate access level. Okta syncs in real-time to Active Directory, LDAP, and other directories. When people change jobs or depart, Okta automatically modifies or removes their access to apps and services depending on these identification changes.
Many businesses today use cloud-based human capital management (HCM) platforms like Workday to streamline the job of their Human Resources department. Even with a robust HCM platform, the onboarding process for new recruits may be tedious, requiring IT to manually react to requests and create accounts in applications and systems for each new user.
The HR department can manage the whole employee lifecycle using Okta’s Workday Integration, from onboarding to job changes to offboarding, and provide users access to the applications and directories they need.
Faster Office 365 deployments
Office 365 is by far the most complicated cloud application suite you will ever have to manage, and many Microsoft-centric enterprises deliberately chose Okta Certification for Office 365. Okta reduces the time it takes to launch Office 365, supports both online and native Office 365 apps, and provides unique automation and user experience improvements that save long-term operating expenses.
High availability, automated onboarding and offboarding, and licensing management are all requirements for many media- to large-sized businesses utilizing Office 365. They require federated Single Sign-On instead of synchronized passwords for improved security. Third-party mobile device management, network security, and interaction with a cloud application security broker may be required. Microsoft suggests adopting Office 365 with AD FS, Azure AD Connect, and Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) to accomplish all of this, which can take 18-24 months. Okta meets all of these standards right out of the box, and it does so six times quicker.
How do you keep track of Office 365 licenses?
Is it possible to automatically assign licenses depending on user roles and group membership? You should be able to choose which Office 365 services are enabled during user onboarding, ideally. For example, you may provide your Sales team with Microsoft E3 licenses that only include Exchange and Lync. While your Support team gets an E3 license that includes SharePoint Online. License management is handling Okta. Okta will automate everything else when IT creates a user in Active Directory and assigns them to a group. Within seconds of IT commencing the process, the new employee may simply acquire access to Office 365. IT will be able to delete licenses for inactive users thanks to improved offboarding capabilities.
Adaptive Security
Microsoft-centric businesses face the same issues as any other company using cloud technology. Because 73 percent of passwords are duplicates1, it’s no surprise that stolen or weak credentials are involved in 81 percent of data breaches2 and 91 percent of phishing attacks3. MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) is a method of reducing the danger of password theft by demanding a second, or even third, method of verifying a user’s identity before they are granted access to any applications or systems.
So that identities and assets are protected without overburdening users, security must react to changing situations and odd incidents. Adaptive MFA from Okta provides for dynamic policy modifications and step-up authentication in response to changes in user and device behavior, location, or other circumstances. Okta’s MFA designs for quick cloud expansion and supports on-premises VPN, RDP, and SSH authentication. Access to apps and data is always safe, even in hybrid contexts and with mobile users.
While Microsoft offers a cloud-based MFA solution, to acquire the same degree of capabilities as Okta. Install their on-premises MFA server together with AD FS.
Okta’s adaptive MFA enables robust authentication across all apps and supports additional third-party MFA factors, including U2F, YubiKey, Smart Cards, Google Authenticator, and others. Okta does not require on-premises MFA servers and is simple to use for managers and end-users alike.
Acquisitions and mergers go more smoothly
Mergers and acquisitions require organizations to combine several user domains in order to give access to business-critical applications.
After a merger, there exist various directories or domains for distinct user demographics. Consolidating these domains is expensive, time-consuming, and has security consequences. IT becomes a bottleneck, and end-users must wait for weeks or months for access to parent company resources. Multiple, incompatible security rules might pose a security risk to the company. Meanwhile, IT has little insight into who has access to which resources.
Identity management (IDM) is a critical control point for connecting users from many enterprises to shared applications. Okta enables enterprises to link disparate populations and regions without need. To set up Active Directory Trusts, adjust firewall settings, or invest in additional hardware. Okta merges identities from any number of Active Directory domains, reducing the time required for directory cleansing and reconciliation. Users at newly acquired firms have immediate access to parent company resources. IT has a unified picture of security throughout the enterprise.
Works well with Microsoft and other software
Online Okta Training is also popular among Microsoft clients. Because of its strong collaboration and comprehensive integration with Microsoft products like Office 365, Windows 10, Azure Active Directory, SharePoint, and Intune. Okta’s cloud-based identification solution integrates seamlessly with Microsoft and other technology providers. Our vendor-neutral identity design makes it easy to roll out Microsoft products and hundreds of other cloud apps and services.
