In today’s identity and access management climate, IT departments are facing growing demands managing thousands of users, both internal and external, who each need access to an increasing number of cloud-based applications. The largest enterprises with the most sophisticated IT teams in the world have started adopting Software as a Service (SaaS) applications and now see that Identity as a Service (IDaaS) is not just a new deployment model.
As a result, the role of IT departments is changing, and now the need for application administration, management, and security require new models. As a new partner of SADA Systems, Okta helps streamline this process. Okta is the leading independent provider of identity and access management. The Okta Identity Cloud enables organizations to both secure and manage their extended enterprise, and transform their customers’ experiences. Whether it’s provisioning, meeting compliance requirements, or simply reducing the number of help desk calls, Okta plays an integral role in efficient enterprise IAM.
Here are some of the ways Okta’s solutions ease the burden on internal IT teams and make a true impact on a company’s productivity:
Single Sign-On
More than ever, users need a quick and secure way to access cloud-based tools to work. If there is no centralized IAM, accessing the software becomes a time-consuming process, with employees having to manually log into each app or service they require.
Imagine the alternative: anyone who logs in to their Okta dashboard, whether on-prem, remotely on a laptop, or on mobile – immediately has access to all their applications. this could be Office 365, G Suite, or any of over 5,000 other apps currently in the Okta Application Network.
An SSO application also gives IT teams a real-time overview of the users that accessed certain applications, when that access occurred, and other important information about their activity. This information helps ensure the integrity of enterprise IAM security.
With so many moving parts, having a single point of authentication simplifies what could be overwhelmingly complex. It comes down to streamlining the day-to-day operations of a team so they can focus on what they do best – while only ever having to sign in once. And instead of having an IT team that’s tied up with low-level administrative issues, such as addressing help tickets of deploying tools for disparate users and teams, these processes are automated and the team is empowered to focus on the bigger picture – efficiency, security and scale.
Self-Service Password Reset
According to Gartner, over 40% of all IT help desk support tickets could be solved through IT self-service, but only 5% actually are… this ultimately means time is wasted waiting for a ticket to be solved, which results in overall loss of productivity for the employee and the company.
Okta provides a self-service password reset capability that allows end users to reset their AD credentials from any browser without admin intervention.
This self-service password reset tool requires an administrator to provide an employee/domain user with access to a web-based self-service portal, letting the user securely reset their password or unlock their account by answering questions and/or reproducing the verification code.
While there is currently not a feature to trigger an email specifically every time a user resets, there are reports that can be generated in this data with a custom search, allowing IT teams and leadership to find all times that the self-service password reset was used over a selected period of time.
Lifecycle Management
When an employee is hired, one of the first steps is the creation of a new record for that employee by HR. Depending on the organization, it is then up to a combination of HR, IT and the employee’s supervisors to grant access to all of the apps and accounts they will need, as well as to introduce and enforce the organization’s security requirements.
As employees are promoted, change roles, or adopt/drop various software tools, their access requirements change. Organizations may restructure or acquire new businesses, bringing along new employees. They can also require temporary or permanent app access for contractors and partners. And employees leave the organization under a litany of circumstances, a process which can be initiated by various departments.
Ultimately, no matter the reasons for the instigation of changes to a user identity, its administration falls to IT. On average, it takes an IT admin 30 minutes to process each provisioning or deprovisioning request. By automating provisioning and user lifecycle management, management can save IT and other departments’ valuable time and unnecessary frustration.
As your organization grows and innovates, use of cloud-based technology and mobile access is likely to increase. Automating user identity and lifecycle management with Okta will streamline your workflows across HR, IT, and all departments that use SaaS and mobile devices.
