Okta Partner Awards: Celebrating our global 2023 winners
At Okta, our Partner ecosystem is a force multiplier that plays a critical role in our growth strategy. On October 3, 2023, at Partner Summit, we were excited to recognize the incredible value of our partners and celebrate our joint accomplishments.
Partner Summit brought together our partner ecosystem and the Okta executive team for thought leadership, knowledge sharing, peer-to-peer networking, and the approach to winning the Identity market together. In one of many popular sessions, Bill Hustad, SVP of Partners and Alliances, shared a first look at Okta’s future roadmap updates around our partnering strategy and led the celebration of how far we’ve come to achieve profitable and predictable business growth with Okta Elevate.
Partners in attendance had the opportunity to discover new ways to provide unique digital experiences to our joint customers and their workforce, business partners, and customers during interactive sessions and hands-on labs.
"Identity is an $80 billion market at the intersection of cloud, digital transformation, cybersecurity, and AI. Our partner ecosystem plays and will play a critical role in shaping the future of this dynamic market. A warm thank you to all Partner Award winners for their exceptional commitment to Okta’s vision and our joint customers.” — Bill Hustad, SVP of Channels and Alliances at Okta.
Global awards
Global System Integrator Partner of the Year — Deloitte
Deloitte operates globally and supports all Okta regions, Americas (US/Canada/LATAM), EMEA, and APJ. Furthermore, Deloitte has invested in building Okta delivery capabilities and has over 400 Deloitte Okta Certified practitioners. Deloitte continues to make investments to build out strong Okta delivery capabilities as an APEX-tier partner, enabling Okta to scale globally and deliver mission-critical Identity projects for our joint customers.
“Partnering with Okta has been an outstanding experience for us at Deloitte. Their unwavering commitment to our success, coupled with their exceptional technology and service, has made our partnership invaluable. We commend Okta for their excellence and look forward to continuing our flourishing partnership in the years to come.”
— Anthony Berg, Principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Global Technology Partner of the Year — AWS
AWS has consistently demonstrated commitment to pushing the boundaries for our partnership. We strongly align with the AWS team on the tenets of co-sell, co-marketing, and co-build. They continue partnering with Okta to deliver solid, joint integrations that solve our customers' needs. With three successful key integrations launched this year, it is only the beginning. AWS has been integral in building our best-of-breed story with multiple technology partners like Zscaler and Crowdstrike, helping us create new and unique ways to engage with our customers and channel partners. As one of our top sourcing partners, we look forward to accelerating our partnership in the upcoming years.
“The partnership between AWS and Okta is a force multiplier that provides valuable user experiences, productivity, and speed to market for our mutual customers. We are honored to receive the 2023 Cloud Partner of the Year award and proud of how we’ve been able to collaborate to ensure a positive and secure experience for our customers. We look forward to our continued partnership and global success with Okta”
— Carol Potts, Head of North America ISV and Digital Native Business Segments, Amazon Web Services
EMEA awards
“A massive thank you and congratulations to all of our partner winners for everything you have done over the last 12 months. As we build partnering into the foundation of everything we do at Okta. I'm excited about what we will build together from here.” - James Bradley, VP, EMEA Partners and Alliances at Okta
EMEA Customer Identity Partner of the Year — Lyvoc
Lyvoc has invested heavily over the last years in Okta and reached one of the highest levels of competencies to build a solid Okta practice. They proactively engage with customers and our sales team and successfully demonstrate the value of our solutions, expanding their footprint across EMEA. Lyvoc also provides consistent support when needed and tailors their services to meet the evolving needs of our clients.
“After six years of partnership, Lyvoc is thrilled to see Okta recognizing the quality of our services and trusting us with more and more large customers. Okta offers partners everything they could dream of: an innovative and cutting-edge product, substantial growth opportunities through the introduction of new products and expansion into new markets, and a genuine commitment to nurturing and supporting their partners throughout their journey. With Okta's comprehensive approach, we are well-equipped to thrive and succeed together in this dynamic and ever-evolving landscape.”
— Roland Kamara, Founder and CEO, Lyvoc
EMEA Workforce Identity Cloud Partner of the Year — Synetis
Synetis is committed to Okta's partnership, growing their practice, delivering amazing results, and supporting us to win the biggest Workforce Identity Cloud (WIC) deal in France this year. As strong influencers, they act as trusted advisors for our customers and work closely with our team to achieve a common goal. We are thrilled to recognize their commitment and this partnership, which is critical for Okta's sales growth.
“The Okta platform offer allows us to build for our customers a ‘roadmap approach’ to address their digital identity topics with a global response organized in multiple projects mapped from their business topics and priorities. Synetis is proud to work and secure the world with such Identity Management experts.”
— Steve Vera, Practice Manager Digital Identity, Synetis
EMEA Rising Star Partner of the Year — CDW
CDW UK has shown great commitment to Okta this year. They've driven strong pipeline numbers across multiple campaigns that position the 'why Okta' story for specific verticals. They have also leveraged the value of Okta's Partner ecosystem, including our technical alliances with Proofpoint, Mimecast, Zscaler, and Crowdstrike, to win together and solve complex customer challenges. CDW is utilizing their strong customer relationships and delivering a relevant message for each organization they're working with, providing value for both their customers and Okta.
“This award celebrates the hard work of staff from both CDW and Okta, who have come together with a common purpose and executed our collective vision with skill and passion.”
— Robin Oakley, Okta Partner Business Manager, CDW
EMEA Partner of the Year — netgo Group
netgo Group, a long-time and trusted Partner in the EMEA region, has consistently grown their business over the past four years, demonstrating great commitment and dedication to their partnership with Okta. Their services, in addition to Okta, contribute to high customer satisfaction and excellent client relationships.
“This award shows us that investing time and effort into our partnership has been recognized and will help us go even further in achieving the next level with Okta and our customers.”
— Daniel Steig, CCO, netgo Ost GmbH
EMEA GSI Partner of the Year — PwC
PwC has invested heavily in building out industry-specific offerings that provide great value to their customers. They have also acted as a trusted advisor to several strategic clients, resulting in great joint customer wins across multiple countries this year. We recognize the investment and dedication PwC has made in further strengthening our partnership. We look forward to building on this success over the coming months and quarters.
“PwC is delighted to win the EMEA GSI Partner of the Year award. Our EMEA-wide project success has shown that Okta perfectly addresses the needs of our clients for [Customer] and Workforce Identity management and helps them realize strong ROI benefits. For me, personally, product quality is a key reason why we recommend Okta to our clients because, relying on a strong technical foundation, we can focus on local market needs to build localized solution offerings. We are looking forward to yet another year of a successful partnership.”
— Moritz Anders, Digital Identity Partner, EMEA Practice Lead Okta, PwC
EMEA Distribution Partner of the Year — Octane Digital
Octane Digital, a boutique distributor in Eastern Europe, is crucial for identifying, recruiting, and building Okta’s Partner business in the region. They are dedicated to establishing Okta in Eastern Europe and actively work with resellers to drive strong growth rates. Octane is a company that excels in their work and goes above and beyond to achieve their goals. Their commitment to Okta and their strong partnership with resellers is outstanding.
“By partnering with Okta, we are able to assist partners and customers in driving value faster and shaping the future of security at their organizations, having an impact on long-term growth and profitability. Thank you for this opportunity and for sharing the unique experience.”
— Barbara Wycisk, Business Development Director, Octane Digital
EMEA Delivery Partner of the Year — Atlas Identity
Atlas Identity has been a loyal and focused Okta Partner for many years. They have invested significantly to grow their team with skilled, experienced resources across Europe to support prospects and customers through their customer-centric service offerings. These offers span the entire customer lifecycle, from pre-assessments to a customized Managed Service solution for customers. Through successful deployments and management of the customer's ongoing lifecycle, they often uncover expansion opportunities while driving Okta's adoption to reduce the risk of churn. Atlas Identity has also developed a number of solutions that complement Okta, allowing for custom user experiences.
“Having been part of the Okta community for many years, we have seen Okta adapt to market conditions to extend their reach and service a broader customer base, with ever-growing complexity in use cases. Our part of the bargain is to adapt in turn, mobilizing our teams to the dynamic demands of the customer and their technologies. Our partnership with Okta is continually evolving, but our success is always defined by the possibilities we unlock for our customers together.”
— Stephen Williams, Managing Director, Atlas Identity
EMEA Sales Champion of the Year — Henri Talvitie at Advania Finland
Henri Talvitie, Head of Digital Workspace at Advania, started his Partner journey with Okta ten years ago. During this time, Henri has demonstrated exceptional commitment to Okta's vision, product, and partnership. He has built an incredible team of Okta specialists in Advania and has been integral to Okta's success in Finland. We proudly recognize his dedication, drive, and influence within his organization with the EMEA Sales Champion of the Year award.
“We had our first Okta trial in November 2013 and have grown together considerably along the road with special thanks to the partner team at Okta”
— Henri Talvitie, Head of Digital Workspace, Advania
EMEA Technical Champion of the Year — Christian Fourneau at Point Base
Christian Fourneau embodies the pinnacle of Okta's values. A beacon of innovation and collaboration, Christian adeptly tackles intricate challenges and drives customers toward the best solutions while ensuring the highest levels of customer satisfaction. He is a real champion and very flexible, and his insights fortify Okta's quest for product excellence. In addition, Christian spearheaded and nurtured a dynamic team, fostering remarkable growth in both WIC and CIC domains. As a pioneering force at PointBase, his leadership facilitated unparalleled expertise. Notably, PointBase stands as the sole authorized Okta trainer in the French region, a testament to Christian's remarkable contributions and commitment to elevating Identity industry standards.
“Winning together with Okta has become a hallmark of our partnership. Our collaboration has not only driven revenue growth but also provided our customers with the peace of mind that their digital identities are in the best hands. With Okta by our side, success is inevitable.”
— Christian Fourneau, CEO, Point Base
APJ awards
"Partners bring skill, scale, solutions, and speed to our customer engagements. This is especially important in APJ, given our immense diversity and localization needs. Thank you for loving our customers, and congratulations for being the best of the best." — Ajay Advani, VP, APJ Channel and Strategic Alliances at Okta
APJ Customer Identity Cloud Partner of the Year — NTT Data Japan
NTT Data has shown commitment to Okta's long-term vision over the years. They work closely with Okta AE's to achieve outstanding delivery results for a wide range of industries. Their services include Customer Identity Cloud (CIC) implementations and operational support, positioning them as a strong, trusted advisor to our joint customers.
“Thank you for the prestigious award. We will continue to support our customers' digital transformation. We hope to continue to support the digital transformation of our customers and to boost Okta's business as a partner.”
— Hunpei Mizuno, Executive Manager, Digital Business Solutions Division, NTT Data
APJ Workforce Identity Cloud Partner of the Year — Uniadex
Over the past year, Uniadex has made a significant investment in Okta and closed the largest deal in history in the APJ region. They’ve brought together several partners providing various integrated cloud security services through a new Zero Trust based security architecture that creates a compelling user experience and comprehensively solves security issues in the cloud-first era. They are working on various initiatives to expand security products for their respective companies under the “CloudPas” vision.
“Thank you very much for the award. Okta is one of the most important solutions to realize Zero Trust. We believe that this award is a recognition from the market for the direction of our security product strategy. We provide integrated cloud security proposals and operational services to achieve Zero Trust. We will continue to work with our customers to create a safe and secure IT environment.”
— Kenji Nukii, General Manager, Uniadex
APJ Rising Partner of the Year — CHEQUER
CHEQUER onboarded as an Okta partner in late 2022 and has since built a team of Customer Identity focused engineers and sales representatives to elevate the business and awareness of Okta in Korea. Their commitment to Okta in Korea and ability to hit the ground running has been clear through the team's coordination of several CIC-focused technical seminars to show customers the value of Okta, especially through education on the benefits of buying vs. building Customer Identity. Chequer's differentiator is the high-performing Okta CIC sales team it has built, where they focus on value selling based on thorough business/technical discovery of prospects.
“We are just in the early stages of our journey with Okta, but it’s already been transformative. Leveraging Okta, we’ve crafted best-in-class capabilities, most notably in the realms of security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR). This has empowered us to establish a more fortified and streamlined Zero Trust model. As we continue to innovate and design use cases spanning diverse industries, our collaboration with Okta is paramount. We are deeply honored and thankful to receive this award.”
— Brant Hwang, CEO and Founder, CHEQUER
APJ Partner of the Year — AWS
AWS has helped Okta APJ accelerate overall business in the past year across all regions, segments, and products. The partnership has delivered significant growth year-on-year in sales thanks to a shared vision of loving our customers and providing excellent experiences. Strong support from AWS has allowed us to continue to enable hundreds of AWS sales and technical representatives on the power of Okta, and participate in joint go-to-market activities, which, connected us to businesses all across APJ.
APJ GSI Partner of the Year — Kyndryl Japan
Kyndryl has accelerated its investment in Okta since last year's contract and has made many proposals under a dedicated team. Kyndryl's security strategy is to offer customers a total security lifecycle, from design implementation to operation, which features Okta as one of its core security products. They worked closely with Okta's account team to achieve an outstanding delivery result for a major customer.
“Kyndryl is very pleased to receive this award. We will continue to provide higher quality services and evolve its business model as a company that supports the infrastructure of mission-critical information systems for enterprises and governments around the world. In this context, we would like to contribute to companies, countries, and society together with Okta in the security domain by integrating Okta's technology and our technology services.”
— Hiroto Hashimot, Executive Officer, General Manager of Cloud Business Division and Strategic Alliances, Kyndryl Japan
APJ Distribution Partner of the Year — Hitachi Solutions
Hitachi Solutions is a pioneer of Okta in Japan and continues to grow each year. They have maintained a high level of engineering expertise and have caught up with new solutions, such as Okta Identity Governance, and won new business.
“We are deeply honored to receive this prestigious ‘Distribution Partner of the Year’ award. We and partners together will continue to deliver Okta products that lead the security industry to protect customer assets from malicious attacks. Thank you very much.”
— Naoki Sakaguchi, Deputy Department Manager Authentication Security Department, Security Cyber Resilience Division, Hitachi Solutions, Ltd.
APJ Delivery Partner of the Year — CyberCX
CyberCX worked closely with Okta's Customer Success team in ANZ to achieve an outstanding delivery result for a major sporting customer. The role CyberCX has now moved into an active advisory role for this customer. They are also shifting gears into future phases, such as moving from Okta’s Customer Identity Solution to our CIC and onboarding more products like Okta Identity Governance.
“Partnering with Okta mirrors key tenants of Identity and Access Management - collective responsibility for security and focus on bringing everyone on the journey. Close collaboration delivers real value to our customers, in turn helping to secure our communities.”
— Michael Leonard, Executive Director IDAM, CyberCX
APJ Sales Champion of the Year — Kostas Theodosi at Insync
Kostas Theodosi is a long-term Okta Champion. This year, Okta and Insync signed a significant public sector organization, a deal that Kostas uncovered through a strong, trusting relationship with the customer. Kostas worked with the customer across a multi-year engagement, where a drive towards successful outcomes for the customer was evident throughout. Kostas seamlessly worked with Okta across multiple teams, proving that Okta and partners are better together when it comes to large, complex deals. He played an integral role in the various stages of the sales process, acted with complete integrity, and practiced transparency, aligning perfectly with our core values. He has built the respect of the wider team and a significant value chain to leverage for future business within the South Australian government.
APJ Technical Champion of the Year — David Shao at Odin
As lead Okta Engineer for Odin, David has been instrumental in generating pipeline sales and growing the Okta partner ecosystem in Taiwan. David has recruited and developed a healthy ecosystem of Okta resellers, with industry expertise spanning FSI, high-tech manufacturing, logistics, gaming, and public sector. David has built up a competent technical practice, whether pre- or post-sales support, that addresses the specific needs of customers in Taiwan, where most prefer to run a proof of concept (POC) to prove value before purchasing software services. David has achieved many successful POCs, attained Okta certification, and gone over and above for Taiwanese customers. One example is helping translate marketing and training materials into Traditional Chinese for consumption.
“I am deeply humbled to receive this award. Reflecting on the past year, I am grateful for the incredible journey of growth I have experienced alongside Odin and Okta. Starting from a point of complete unfamiliarity with IAM, I have evolved to the stage where I can confidently engage with clients, present solutions, and resolve their challenges. I eagerly anticipate continuing this extraordinary journey together.”
— David Shao, Engineering Manager, Odin
Americas awards
“In absolute awe of the success you have driven with Okta and feel extremely encouraged by the kinetic energy we have built together to make a material impact as we step forward together" — Rich Figer, VP, Americas Partners and Alliances at Okta
AMER Customer Identity Cloud Partner of the Year — iC Consult
iC Consult has built a proven methodology and program for Customer Identity built on Okta. By leveraging their extensive knowledge in security and gaining a deep understanding of our customers' business, technology landscape, and personas, iC Consult has become a trusted advisor to executives. Over the last year, iC Consult has demonstrated its ability to find, cultivate, and deliver world-class Customer Identity programs to several large organizations that are seeing increased value in customer loyalty, improved customer engagement, and impressive returns on investment. iC Consult has demonstrated their ability to deliver on all of Okta's partner motions with multi-million dollar wins that drive expansion and strong repeat business. Their success with Okta and their ability to showcase their expertise is the ultimate measure of success. iC Consult continues to invest in Okta with custom integrations and solutions that deliver real time-to-value to new and existing joint customers.
“In the world of partnerships, Okta stands as a shining example of what true collaboration means. While not all partnerships are created equal, Okta's unwavering commitment to working hand-in-hand with us has been nothing short of inspiring. It's one thing to align with a best-in-class solution like Okta, but it's an entirely different level of partnership when the leadership and its teams unite to forge a thriving business synergy. Okta and iC Consult have transcended the conventional notion of partners; we've become integral business units within each other's journey towards success, a testament to the boundless possibilities that genuine collaboration can unlock.”
— Jonathan Edwards, CEO, iC Consult
“My personal business mantra is "Help First, Sell Second," which encapsulates my favorite Okta core value of "love your customer." Working with Okta with these "customer-centric" goals and initiatives as our guide has been a gratifying experience for all three parties involved. Indeed, a win-win-win for our customers, Okta, and iC Consult.”
— Tim York, VP of Partnerships, iC Consult
AMER Workforce Identity Cloud Partner of the Year — CDW
This past year, CDW has taken tremendous strides to accelerate their partnership with Okta investing time and resources in technical enablement, delivery certifications and sales accreditations. CDW is building a best-in-class Identity Practice specializing in Okta’s WIC and CIC platforms through joint collaboration, delivering positive customer outcomes. These efforts are paying dividends as we are experiencing incredible growth and establishing a foundation for mutual success.
"At CDW, we work to deliver top-of-the-line innovative solutions and resources to our customers that drive real business value, and there is no bigger value today than providing the visibility and control those customers need to manage, protect, and secure their digital operations. The challenges of rapid technology growth combined with unique applications, diversity of devices, and coworker mobility have brought about substantial Identity and security issues. Our highly valued partnership with Okta provides our customers access to Okta’s full-feature Identity platform for a modern hybrid infrastructure, making it simpler for customers to access resources safely and securely in order to do their jobs.”
— Stephanie Hagopian, VP of ITS Cybersecurity Solutions, CDW
AMER Rising Star Partner of the Year — GuidePoint Security
Guidepoint Security (GPS) continues to demonstrate their commitment and investment in Okta. This year, they've embraced the Okta Elevate Partner Program by achieving the highest program tier, supercharging their number of certified Okta engineers, and continuing to grow the pipeline. We are excited to grow our partnership in the future and beyond.
“GuidePoint Security and Okta management teams have worked together to identify accounts and grow our business across the country. It has been a true partnership to help our Okta business grow 150% this past year.”
— Joe Leonard, CTO and VP, Security Strategy, GuidePoint Security.
“Our investment in Okta is truly paying off as we're seeing significant growth with our partnership.”
— Kevin Converse, VP, IAM, GuidePoint Security
AMER Partner of the Year — BeyondID
As a strategic partner, BeyondID brings unique expertise to address joint customers' challenges. The integrations they've built on Okta's solutions have created new opportunities and have led to mutual growth in the Healthcare vertical. We recognize their commitment to Okta, to our joint customers, and the value they bring to the industry.
“BeyondID is proud to be an Okta Apex partner and a leading provider of Managed Identity Solutions. We are dedicated to investing in the growth of the most extensive group of Okta-certified professionals in the Okta ecosystem. Our partnership with Okta spans over six years, during which we have helped a large number of joint customers realize their digital identity strategies. Our emphasis on innovation empowers us to offer companies solutions that support identity modernization, speedy digital transformation, cloud migration, and the optimal zero-trust security posture.”
— Charles Fortune, COO and Co-Founder, BeyondID
AMER GSI Partner of the Year — Deloitte
Deloitte supports Okta across Strategic, Federal, and SLED verticals to help deliver mission-critical Identity projects in the US and Canada for our joint customers. Deloitte continues to build out accelerators and offerings around Okta, such as digital Identity, MXDR, and ZeroTrust. Furthermore, it provides thought leadership and awareness through a joint Okta-Deloitte CIAM webinar series.
“Partnering with Okta has been an outstanding experience for us at Deloitte. Their unwavering commitment to our success, coupled with their exceptional technology and service, has made our partnership invaluable. We commend Okta for their excellence and look forward to continuing our flourishing partnership in the years to come.”
— Anthony Berg, Principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP
AMER Distribution Partner of the Year — Ingram Micro
Ingram Micro has been a force multiplier for Okta since the inception of their partnership. Their excellence in go-to-market strategy and presence has helped Okta accelerate scale, reach, and influence over the past year. The company’s global footprint has been instrumental in granting Okta access to a rich partner ecosystem across the Americas. The collaboration between Ingram Micro and Okta continues to thrive, with a shared focus on partner recruitment, channel enablement, and demand generation. Ingram Micro’s innovative approach and dedication to customer satisfaction puts it in a unique position to accelerate adoption and help Okta expand its reach to new markets and customers.
“Ingram Micro is honored to once again be recognized by Okta as a high-performance go-to-market business partner. Our relationship with Okta continues to expand and grow as a result of our joint efforts to educate on the need and help solve for today’s security challenges by adding Identity-driven security into today’s IT security solution stack. Seamless and secure connections between IT and humans are where Okta thrives and what businesses need to stay secure. We are looking forward to helping more and more of our channel partners win with Okta.”
— Eric Kohl, VP, Security, Ingram Micro
AMER Delivery Partner of the Year — PwC
PwC's tireless efforts and continued success with Okta demonstrate their trust in Okta's vision and strategy. They are devoted to aligning and developing strong relationships with our teams, including Partner and customer success, support, and product — all to ensure we deliver our joint customers faster time to value and innovation. They continue to invest in deepening their knowledge of Okta's solutions (both CIC and WIC) to transform the industry in tandem. Their commitment to Okta is unwavering.
“Our strategic partnership with Okta enables us to provide accelerated outcomes to our joint customers. Our track record of delivering some of the largest and most complex Identity solutions powered by Okta across industries is unparalleled. As an APEX partner of Okta, we are proud of the success we have achieved together and looking forward to our next phase of partnership!”
— Vishnu Allaparthi, Identity Partner Lead, PwC
AMER Sales Champion of the Year - Brian George at PwC
Brian's commitment and dedication to the PwC and Okta partnership is stellar. We recognize his drive for success and excellence. Daily, he advocates for Okta at his organization, ensures the right executives and stakeholders are engaged in opportunities, and connects multiple teams to drive progress.
“I’m honored to even be considered for an award with Okta, given I have the privilege of working with such a talented team focused on pipeline development, winning business, and predictable accurate forecasting. I love the winning passion of the Okta culture, and it means the world to me to be recognized.”
— Brian George, Director, PwC
AMER Technical Champion of the Year — Naren Jangid at RAAH Technologies
As the CEO of RAAH Technologies, Naren Jangid has turned his company into one of Okta’s go-to partners for WIC and CIC engagements. He has built a team of experts capable of driving engagements from initial discovery through architecture, testing, delivery, and support. With over 20 years of experience, Naren’s deep industry knowledge was a key factor in asking him to join Okta's Partner Technical Champion program, where he has quickly become a valuable contributor. Earlier this year, Okta moved forward to certify RAAH as a Professional Services subcontractor focused on CIC delivery, a testament to the team Naren has built. Naren is a true believer that Identity is at the center of every aspect of how organizations and people live and work in an ever-growing digital world.
“Okta is integral to our business framework, seamlessly complementing the dynamic digital demands of today's world with their outstanding solutions. For many of our clients, CIAM solutions remain a priority. We're honored to stand as the sole Okta Partner with official clearance to undertake PS CIC projects. Our profound expertise in Okta’s CIC positions us at the forefront of the CIAM industry, an advantage amplified by Okta. It always puts a smile on our faces when a customer realizes the endless possibilities the Okta product offers.”
— Naren Jangid, Founder and CEO, RAAH Technologies
Public sector Partner Awards
“A huge ‘thank you’ to our public sector Partners for their ongoing investments in training, certifications, and joint go-to-market initiatives. Their loyalty, perseverance, and service to our mutual Government customers is greatly appreciated.” — Ralph Figueiredo, Director, Public Sector Alliances at Okta
AMER Public Sector Partner of the Year — Carahsoft
Carahsoft continues to be our most strategic business partner across our public sector vertical. No other Partner can deliver on as many areas of the business as they can, making them a true value add and extension of Okta's team. The breadth and depth they cover is nothing short of amazing. They have been instrumental to Okta's success in the public sector.
“Carahsoft is honored to be recognized as one of Okta’s partner award winners this year. We value the opportunity to work side-by-side with Okta to create new opportunities for our joint customers. This award is a testament to the dynamic relationship we continue to build with Okta and our resellers to support our public sector partner network and customers. The relationship that we have built since 2016 is founded on honesty, integrity, and a sincere desire to help our customers with their most challenging and important security needs. Our teams work in concert with each other every single day (including weekends) in support of our mutual goals, which are one and the same. We consider our sales and marketing professionals as a true extension of the Okta public sector team. Our sales reps go through the same training as Okta to ensure that when we speak with customers, they feel like they are speaking with Okta directly. Our marketing reps meet multiple times per week to ensure that we are messaging the value of Okta the same way that Okta would. The goals we set for our team internally are the same goals that Okta sets for themselves. When we win, we truly win together.”
— Eric Pankau, Okta Team Lead, Carahsoft
AMER Public Sector Solution Provider Partner of the Year — Blackwood
Blackwood continues to find new ways to advance, innovate, and strengthen their partnership with Okta. This year, they were key in closing many large-scale deals across the Federal and SLED sectors while continuing to drive net new opportunities across the public sector. Their understanding of the Zero Trust ecosystem, expertise in Okta, and focus on growing our joint business continue to make them a strategic partner for the Federal and SLED verticals.
“The people we work with at Okta are authentic in their interactions; communication is candid, and the partnership is real. We began working with Okta primarily due to the strength of their product offering and expanded alignment in the field because the tech is bulletproof, and we enjoy the people. 10/10 — would partner again.”
— Ryan Morris, President, and Tim Hall, Director of Alliances, Blackwood
AMER Public Sector SI Partner of the Year — Active Cyber
Active Cyber is a long-standing system integrator that provides advisory, implementation, and managed services dedicated to Okta. They are devoted to supporting the success of our customers and work closely with our field sales organization to ensure that our customers get the most out of their investments in Okta. They have become a trusted advisor and extension of Okta's sales organization. Active Cyber has played an instrumental role in several multi-million dollar wins across the FED and SLED space and continues to support the mutual growth of our businesses. Additionally, Active Cyber has made significant financial investments to develop solutions that expand our footprint in the public sector vertical and provide new capabilities and value for Okta customers. We are pleased to recognize Active Cyber, whose business solely focuses on Okta.
AMER Public Sector Champion of the Year - Steve Jacyna at Carahsoft
Steve Jacyna and his team of over 30 professionals have been instrumental in Okta's ability to scale. He is a true champion of Okta at Carahsoft, supporting all aspects of the sales cycle and partnership. We proudly recognize Steve's exceptional influence, passion, and unwavering commitment to our joint customers.
“The Okta Carahsoft partnership is truly the most trusting and comprehensive of any that I have seen in my 16 years in this business. From the amazing stories we have helped promote with Zscaler, Crowdstrike, Salesforce, LexisNexis, Splunk, and many others to the world-class industry events we run together and our collective ability to quickly collaborate and execute against new legislation in the public sector, make this partnership one of the best in the industry. We sincerely value the many relationships we have fostered over the years with Okta’s channel and sales teams, and we feel like we are truly an extension of Okta with the same goals and the same motivation to help guide our customers down the right path when it comes to security. Our internal sales teams wake up every day excited to help foster the mission around Identity, and the comprehensive training we receive from the Okta team helps us to better articulate the importance of Identity to our customers. The support and feedback we receive from Okta’s channel team every single day is one of the reasons we have been so successful over the last five years. As far as our business is concerned, Okta continues to be one of our fastest growing partnerships, and we are honored and excited to continue growing our dedicated sales and marketing teams to support this growth for many years to come.”
— Steve Jacyna, Senior Director, Carahsoft
Technology Partner Awards
“Congratulations to our outstanding Technology Partner Award winners! You are thought leaders, and the work that we do together is truly transformational and enables us to jointly solve real customer challenges. Your relentless dedication and innovation have not only earned you this recognition but have also strengthened our partnership. Here's to many more milestones to conquer as we continue this remarkable journey together.” — Stephen Lee, VP Technical Strategy and Partnership
Technology Partner Innovator of the Year — Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks has consistently demonstrated innovation, originality, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of what's possible. They have an uncanny ability to anticipate industry trends and have continued to partner with Okta to develop solutions that address immediate needs and future-proof customers for upcoming business challenges. Palo Alto Networks continues to build our partnership beyond product development by promoting open collaboration and knowledge sharing to foster progress. As our partnership grows, we are excited to focus on more integrated GTM motions related to a comprehensive best-of-breed Zero Trust solution, solving complex problems across the strategic and federal spaces and creating unique ways to engage with other partners like AWS and GCP.
“Okta is a strategic partner with deep technology integrations across our portfolio, and we continue to drive innovation as we enable customers in their Zero Trust journey.”
— Pamela Cyr, Vice President of Technical Partnerships, Palo Alto Networks
Workforce Identity Cloud Technology Partner of the Year — Zscaler
Zscaler has done an amazing job of supporting our GTM security strategy. With them, we've generated a significant pipeline, increased deal registrations, and closed revenue across our commercial and enterprise spaces. Zscaler's commitment to driving field alignment and sales engagement is mirrored by enhanced marketing and joint messaging for our customers. We look forward to continued success in FY25.
“The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform seamlessly integrates with the Okta WIC to simplify context-driven Zero Trust enforcement. The Zscaler team is honored to be recognized for joint business growth by applying structured cross-selling and co-selling in sourcing and accelerating the pipeline. We are driven by a passion for empowering small businesses and global distributed enterprises to modernize their workplace without compromising on security or user experience. “
— Amit Raikar, VP of Tech Alliances and Business Development, Zscaler
Rising Star Technology Partner of the Year — Google
We forged a new partnership with Google this year, given our strong alignment as Microsoft competitors. We have integrations and partnerships launching within the Chrome, Android, GCP AI, and Workspace teams. Earlier this year, we launched a new GTM play with Google Workspace that is already proving impactful. We look forward to doing much more with Google next year and beyond.
“Google Cloud is excited to be partnering with Okta to bring more secure, helpful tools to our enterprise customers, including gen AI experiences powered by Vertex AI to streamline admin processes and enable simpler configurations. We look forward to continuing to build market-leading technology together."
— Andy Wen, Director Product Management, Workspace, Google
Technology Partner Champion of the Year — Clinton Cheung at Google
Clinton has done a phenomenal job collaborating and creatively seeking new avenues to enhance the Google-Okta partnership. He looks beyond his purview and is plugged into the bigger picture of our partnership. Clinton tenaciously strives for Okta to collaborate with all teams at Google (Android, Chrome, Workspace and GCP). He is a true Okta Champion.
“Thank you for the nomination; it really is an honor to be working with Okta! We at Google have been really impressed with all the work Okta has been doing and want to continue growing our partnership with you. There is so much synergy between both our organizations, from Workspace, GCP, and Chrome to Android. I look forward to achieving more success in the future and helping our customers. I would like to personally thank all the amazing leaders I get to work with. You make my life a lot easier!”
— Clinton Cheung, Enterprise Field Sales, Google
To learn more about the Okta Elevate Partner Program or to become a partner, visit us here!