Okta

Okta is a leading cloud-based Identity and Access Management (IAM) platform that enables secure access, automation, and identity governance across workforce and customer environments. It delivers Single Sign-On (SSO), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Lifecycle Management, and API Access Management, supporting open standards such as OpenID Connect (OIDC), OAuth 2.0, and SAML 2.0.

Key Capabilities

• Standards-based federation: Offers full support for OIDC, OAuth 2.0, and SAML 2.0, acting as both an Identity Provider (IdP) and Service Provider (SP) to enable cross-domain single sign-on.

• Adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Uses contextual signals such as device, IP, geolocation, and risk level to enforce adaptive MFA. Supports a wide range of authenticators including FIDO2/WebAuthn, Okta Verify push, TOTP, SMS, and email.

• Lifecycle management (SCIM 2.0): Automates user onboarding and deprovisioning through SCIM 2.0 and HR-driven provisioning via systems like Workday and SuccessFactors.

• Developer APIs and SDKs: Provides a robust set of REST APIs and SDKs for authentication, token management, session control, and SCIM provisioning automation, enabling deep integration into custom apps.

Limitations

• Deployment model: Okta is entirely SaaS-based; no self-hosted or on-premises version is available (the Okta Identity Engine is cloud-native).

• Customization boundaries: While offering configurable login experiences and token claims, customization is limited by the Okta Identity Engine’s policy framework.

• Advanced OAuth profile coverage: Public documentation confirms Pushed Authorization Requests (PAR) and JWT Access Token Profile support but lacks confirmation of DPoP or mTLS-bound token capabilities.

• API rate limits: All tenants are subject to API throttling; high-volume integrations must account for rate-limit management and batching.