Identity Challenges with Scaling Google Apps
Datasheet
Google Apps: Directory Integration Edition
Okta’s pre-integrated solution for Google Apps delivers:
- Single sign-on for Google Apps and all your cloud applications.
- Automated user management to efficiently and securely manage Google Apps accounts.
- Increased productivity for both administrators and Google Apps users.
- Usage and cost alignment to optimize your Google Apps ROI.
- Logging and reporting for a complete audit trail on Google Apps access.
Google Apps is becoming increasingly important for many organizations as a key productivity tool for email and collaboration for virtually every employee. However, as a web application that’s separate from your on-premises IT infrastructure, Google Apps presents identity and access management challenges for both users and administrators.
Users struggle to remember their usernames and passwords, leading to distracting password reset requests that administrators must process quickly to keep users productive. Additionally, when a new employee joins your organization, they need rapid access to perform their daily tasks. When an employee leaves, their accounts must be promptly deactivated to preserve the integrity of any critical application data they may have had access to.
Provisioning and deprovisioning Google Apps accounts is a manual, time-consuming, error-prone process. Google does provide a tool called Google Apps Directory Sync that connects with Microsoft Active Directory (AD) to help with the initial Google Apps rollout by performing a one-time sync based on Active Directory records. However, Google Apps Directory Sync is not integrated into all of the apps Google offers (for example, Postini, Analytics, and AdWords), and it doesn’t natively provide ongoing synchronization. It also doesn’t extend the integration to enable users to access Google Apps with their Active Directory password.
Finally, organizations that adopt Google Apps typically value the benefits of software as a service (SaaS) and also deploy many other rapidly growing cloud applications like Salesforce.com, WebEx, GoToMeeting, NetSuite, Concur, and ADP, which exacerbates their single sign-on (SSO) and user management challenges.
Single Sign-On
Okta provides SSO with Google Apps using the industry-standard SAML protocol.
SSO for Google and All Your Apps
Users can enjoy one-click access to Google Apps and any other cloud application through a graphical home page. With Okta Desktop Single Sign-On enabled, organizations can use Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA) for true SSO with Windows domain for any cloud application, and regardless of authentication standard including custom-built internal web apps.
Automate User Management
Okta achieves automated user management by integrating with the Google Apps Provisioning API to support automated account provisioning and password synchronization. By integrating with Active Directory, Okta also enables centralized administration of account access and account deactivation.
Seamless AD Integration
Integrate Active Directory and enable Okta Desktop Single Sign-On in under 30 minutes without making any changes to your firewall or purchasing any additional hardware or software to provide true SSO experience with Windows domain and automated user management
Increased User and Administrator Productivity
Automating provisioning frees administrators to focus on higher-value tasks and ensures that users always have access to the applications they need.
Align Usage with Cost
Seat utilization and application ROI can be optimized both through dedicated utilization reporting based on access behavior, and by automatically deactivating users when their roles and privileges change in the on-premises directory.
Logging and Reporting
Leverage powerful analytics and reporting by logging the who, what, when, and where of user activity for Google Apps and any other application. In addition, dedicated reports audit deprovisioning and provide insight into seat utilization.
Google Apps and All Your Cloud Applications
Okta is a simple and flexible solution that enables you to securely manage all your web applications regardless of the authentication methods they support or whether they run inside or outside the corporate firewall. Okta requires no up-front investments in hardware, software, or development time. A consumer-like experience for users and simple but robust directory and application integrations for administrators enable Okta to deliver SSO, user management, and analytics for Google Apps and all your organization’s web applications in minutes rather than months. With Okta, your cloud is covered.
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