Introduction
Identity and access management is core to any organization, securing productivity in our modern day and age. IAM solutions provide organizations with the ability to authenticate, authorize, and manage the identities and access of their employees, customers, and business partners concerning different applications and devices. IAM solutions also help organizations in the efforts of regulatory compliance and privacy requirements. These are essential to the prevention of data breaches and allow for the highest quality of user experience.
Entra and Okta are very strong IAM solutions with varied suites, advantages, and features for different use cases and scenarios. Entra is a cloud service that lies within the Microsoft Azure ecosystem and provides critical IAM functionality for Microsoft Cloud services and some third-party applications. On the other hand, Okta is a cloud-based environment that integrates IAM services for customer identity and workforce.
In this blog, a comparison between Okta and Entra features is presented as follows:
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Identity Governance and Administration (IGA)
- Adaptive Access Management (AAM)
- Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM)
We will provide advantages and disadvantages for each solution and an overview of the various recommendations for you to choose the best IAM solution.
Comparison Between Okta and Entra ID
| Feature | Okta | Microsoft Entra |
|---|---|---|
| Single Sign-On (SSO) | Ensures secure entry to all applications using a single set of credentials, irrespective of the application being mobile, cloud, or on-premises. Works with SAML, OpenID Connect, WS-Federation, and others. | Delivers effortless access to Microsoft Cloud services and numerous third-party applications. Works with SAML, OpenID Connect, WS-Federation, and other standards. |
| Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) | It offers factors such as SMS, voice calls, email, mobile applications, security questions, biometrics, and hardware tokens. Enables granular policies based on user, group, location, network, device, and application. | Offers basic factors such as SMS, voice call, email, and mobile app. Allows conditional access policies based on user, group, location, network, device, and application. |
| Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) | Allows the automated provisioning and de-provisioning of users to applications and directories. Role-based access control is supported, along with self-service requests, approvals, certifications, and reporting. | Enables provisioning and de-provisioning of users to Microsoft Cloud services and some external applications. Role-based access control and reporting are supported. |
| Adaptive Access Management (AAM) | Employs machine learning and contextual data to detect and respond to anomalous behavior and risky sign-in attempts. Provides customizable risk scoring and granular remediation actions. | This integrates with Azure AD Identity Protection for possible compromise and suspicious activities detection and reaction. Provides pre-configured risk levels and policies. |
| Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) | Enables firms to safely manage customer identities and preferences on a large scale. Provides social login, consent management, progressive profiling, and loyalty programs. | Integrates with Azure AD B2C to provide identity and access management for consumer-facing applications. Supports social login, consent management, and custom policies. |
Advantages and Disadvantages
Okta and Microsoft Entra ID both have their strengths and weaknesses depending on the use case and scenario.
Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each solution:
Okta
Advantages
- Delivers a comprehensive and unified suite of IAM services for both workforce and customer identities.
- Accommodates a diverse array of applications, devices, and standards, including cloud, on-premises, and mobile environments.
- Offers flexible and customizable solutions for authentication, authorization, and governance.
- Utilizes machine learning and contextual data to enable adaptive and intelligent access management.
- Improves customer experience and loyalty through features like social login, consent management, progressive profiling, and loyalty programs.
Disadvantages
- Might necessitate additional integration and configuration efforts for certain applications and scenarios.
- Could lead to increased costs and complexity when managing multiple IAM solutions.
- Might not provide the same level of integration and compatibility with Microsoft Cloud services and applications as Entra.
Microsoft Entra ID
Advantages
- Provides essential and dependable IAM features for Microsoft Cloud services and some third-party applications.
- Ensures a smooth and uniform sign-in process across Microsoft Cloud services and applications.
- Works well with other Azure offerings like Azure AD Identity Protection, Azure AD B2C, and Azure AD Domain Services.
- Cuts down expenses
- Simplifies management by using a single IAM solution.
Disadvantages
- Might lack the range of features and adaptability that Okta offers for certain applications and situations.
- Might not work with some applications, devices, and standards unrelated to Microsoft or not based in the cloud.
- Might not give users the same level of personalization and smart features as Okta for authentication, authorization, and governance.
- Might not boost customer satisfaction and retention as much as Okta does with social login, permission management, step-by-step profiling, and loyalty programs.
Recommendations
Choosing the right IAM solution for your company depends on several things, like what your business needs, how much you can spend, what apps and systems you already have, and what you plan to do in the future.
Here is some advice for common situations:
- If you want a full IAM package that works with lots of apps, devices, and standards, and gives you options to customize how people log in, what they can do, and how you manage it all then Okta might be the way to go.
- If you’re after basic trustworthy IAM features that play nice with Microsoft Cloud services and applications, and you want to keep things simple and cost effective by using just one IAM system then Entra could be your best bet.
- If you’re after an IAM solution that blends the strengths of different approaches, you might want to think about using Okta and Entra together, based on what you need and the situation at hand. As an example, you could use Okta to manage customer identity and access management, while relying on Entra to handle workforce identity and access management.
Conclusion
Okta and Entra ID stand out as top IAM solutions, each offering unique features to handle user identities and access. Okta gives you a full range of IAM services that work for both employees and customers. Entra, on the other hand, provides essential and dependable IAM functions for Microsoft Cloud services and some outside apps. Each solution has its strong points and weak spots, which change based on how you plan to use it. So, it’s key to think about what your business needs, how much you can spend, the applications and infrastructure you already have, and what you want to do in the future before you pick the right IAM solution for your company. If you have more queries, please reach out to us.
