Read this feature comparison of JumpCloud and Okta, two leading IAM software solutions that can help secure your business.
Identity and access management software is essential for protecting your company’s networks, servers and other resources. Okta is one of the best-known companies in the IAM space, but up-and-coming competitor JumpCloud has recently challenged Okta’s dominance. We compare the essential features of JumpCloud and Okta to help you choose the right IAM software for your business.
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What is JumpCloud?
JumpCloud is a cloud-based zero-trust directory platform that offers single sign-on, cloud LDAP, cloud RADIUS, multi-factor authentication, device management, server access and more. Whether you need to manage cloud-based applications or on-premises devices, JumpCloud is a complete IAM solution for cloud-first businesses.
What is Okta?
Okta is one of the world’s leading identity platforms, trusted by more than 15,000 customers to secure their user data. Okta offers single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, advanced server access, universal directory, and more through its cloud-based platform.
JumpCloud vs Okta: Feature Comparison
| Features | JumpCloud | Okta |
|---|---|---|
| Single sign-on | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile device management | Yes | Nope |
| Connection to the IaaS server | Yes | Nope |
| Multi-factor authentication | Yes | Yes |
| password manager | Yes | Yes |
Head-to-head comparison: JumpCloud vs. Okta
Single sign-on
SSO is Okta’s calling card and the main reason many people use this software. Okta offers over 7,000 pre-built connectors that allow employees to easily log into almost any website or application with secure SSO. It also offers the ability to use its cloud-based SSO with on-premises apps through over 1,400 SAML and OpenID Connect integrations. The sheer number of out-of-the-box options means you can be up and running with Okta SSO in weeks, not months.
JumpCloud offers SSO as one of its features, but its library of predefined connectors is much smaller. JumpCloud only offers about 750 prebuilt integrations, which is about 10% of what Okta provides by default.
If you only need SSO for more recognizable apps like AWS and Google, JumpCloud will probably have what you need, but you can browse their list of pre-built connectors to confirm. If you need SSO for a more specialized application or a wide variety of applications, Okta is the answer.
Mobile device management
Unlike its native SSO connectors, Okta relies on third-party integrations to provide MDM functionality. Since Okta has been around for so long and MDM is so essential to identifying access management, you’ll have several integrations to choose from, including Microsoft Intune, VMware Workspace One, and MobileIron. Users say these integrations are easy to set up and use, but having to turn to a third-party service always means you have to run, maintain, and pay for another component on top of Okta, which can be undesirable.
On the other hand, JumpCloud offers both authentication and device management. JumpCloud’s Directory-as-a-Service can be used for Windows, Mac, and Linux devices, allowing your IT department to manage a diverse mix of devices across a large organization. Your administrators can initiate and terminate access to hardware as needed, in addition to running scripts, updating applications, and modifying files.
If you only want to pay for a service that offers both SSO and MDM, go for JumpCloud on Okta.
Infrastructure as a Service
JumpCloud and Okta each take a slightly different approach to server infrastructure. Okta does not directly authenticate users against the server infrastructure. Instead, it logs users into the servers’ user management consoles.
JumpCloud takes a different route, connecting users directly to actual servers from different IaaS providers. Some of these IaaS servers include AWS, Azure, and Google Compute Engine. If connecting directly to IaaS providers’ servers is important to your business, then JumpCloud is a stronger bet.
JumpCloud vs. Okta: which one to choose?
Many companies actually use JumpCloud and Okta together, relying on Okta for its robust SSO capabilities while turning to JumpCloud for its cloud directory service, mobile device management, and other features.
If you’re looking to pick one over the other and want a reputable SSO provider with thousands of out-of-the-box app connectors, choose Okta. If you want more features and a complete IAM solution with multiple features in one package, choose JumpCloud.
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