Let’s look at some cases where Okta can be useful.

Authentication and authorization for an application

Let’s suppose that we want to add authentication and authorization to our application. Okta enables users to sign in with a username and password, or with their social accounts such as Google and Facebook. Once the user has signed in, we can retrieve their profile information, customize our application UI according to their role and apply our authorization policies.

Authentication and authorization for an API

Using Okta we can also secure our APIs and the servers that run them by only allowing authorized entities to use the API. Furthermore, we can define rules and scopes that allow different entities varying levels of access to our APIs.

Single sign-on (SSO) for multiple apps

Okta allows us to implement single sign-on (SSO) for multiple applications. It enables users to sign in to other applications without the need to remember separate sets of credentials for each application or service. Users can sign in once and access the full suite of applications.

Multifactor authentication (MFA)

Okta allows us to implement multifactor authentication (MFA) for our users when they access sensitive data. It enables a second level of security, which can include verification through SMS, email, voice, biometrics, Okta Verify, and more. We can enforce MFA for every sign-in or configure policies to enforce it based only on location, network, and device context. For example, we can enforce MFA in case the user signs in from a new device located in a different city or country.

Federated users

Okta allows us to federate our users that use an existing enterprise directory. It enables them to sign in to various internal and third-party applications with their existing enterprise credentials or through Active Directory (AD) or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) servers.

User management

Using Okta’s user interface we can manually add or remove users, update profiles and quickly fix any user sign-in issues by editing the authorization attributes. Okta allows us to manage our users and their data from a single point. Moreover, we can also sync our users from different services, third-party apps, and user stores.