Forgerock Identity vs Okta: What are the differences?

Introduction

Forgerock Identity and Okta are two popular identity and access management platforms. Both offer comprehensive solutions for managing user identities and their access to various resources. However, there are key differences between Forgerock Identity and Okta that organizations should consider before choosing the right platform for their needs.

1. Integration Capabilities: Forgerock Identity provides extensive integration capabilities that allow organizations to connect and synchronize user data with various systems and applications. It supports industry-standard protocols like SAML, OAuth, and OpenID Connect, making it easy to integrate with other identity systems. On the other hand, Okta offers a wide range of pre-built integrations with popular apps and services, making it easier to set up and manage user access to these resources. This difference in integration capabilities can be crucial depending on the specific requirements of an organization.

2. Customization and Extensibility: Forgerock Identity offers a highly customizable and extensible platform, allowing organizations to tailor the solution to their specific needs. It provides a flexible policy framework, workflow engine, and user interface customization options. Okta, on the other hand, offers limited customization options but focuses on providing a user-friendly and intuitive interface. This difference in customization and extensibility can be significant for organizations that require a highly tailored identity solution.

3. Deployment Options: Forgerock Identity offers flexible deployment options, including on-premises, private cloud, and public cloud, giving organizations the choice to deploy the solution in their preferred environment. Okta, on the other hand, primarily offers a cloud-based deployment model, which may be convenient for organizations looking for a fully managed and scalable solution. This difference in deployment options can be crucial for organizations with specific regulatory or compliance requirements.

4. User Experience: Forgerock Identity provides a powerful and feature-rich user experience, allowing organizations to create customizable and branded self-service portals for users. It offers a broad range of authentication options, including biometric authentication and risk-based authentication. Okta, on the other hand, focuses on providing a seamless and user-friendly experience with its intuitive interface and simplified workflows. This difference in user experience can be important for organizations that prioritize ease of use for their users.

5. Scalability and Performance: Forgerock Identity is known for its scalability and performance capabilities, handling large volumes of users and transactions efficiently. It offers horizontal scalability and can be easily scaled up to meet the growing demands of an organization. Okta also provides excellent scalability and performance but primarily focuses on delivering a reliable and high-performing cloud-based solution. This difference in scalability and performance can be critical for organizations with high user volumes and complex identity requirements.

6. Pricing Model: Forgerock Identity follows a flexible pricing model, allowing organizations to choose the components and features they need. It offers both perpetual and subscription-based licensing options, giving organizations more flexibility in managing their costs. Okta, on the other hand, primarily follows a subscription-based pricing model, offering different tiers based on the organization's needs and user count. This difference in pricing models can be important for organizations with specific budget constraints and cost considerations.

In summary, Forgerock Identity offers extensive integration capabilities, customization, and deployment options, while Okta focuses on providing a user-friendly interface and scalable cloud-based solution. The choice between these two platforms depends on an organization's specific requirements, such as integration needs, customization flexibility, deployment preferences, user experience priorities, scalability requirements, and pricing considerations.