Okta makes authentication API free for apps and websites

Identity solutions provider Okta has today announced a new API offering.

API Products for One App makes it easy and affordable for engineering teams to use Okta to power modern authentication for any single website or application.

Okta is also making API Products for One App – which includes Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – available for free with "Identity by Okta" branding.

"Protecting identities is hard. Building a secure authentication, authorisation and user management stack for your applications is even harder," says Okta CEO and co-founder Todd McKinnon.

"The vast number of breaches and massive extent of data loss occurring today suggests that we need a simpler and more effective way to embed identity and authentication solutions.

"We believe that every organisation in the world should have the best technology available to protect their identities, data and privacy. Now, with Okta API Products for One App, development teams don't have to debate whether they should try to build authentication themselves – they can just use Okta.

The investment needed to build out secure identity infrastructure can be overwhelming for large enterprises focusing on a single digital experience, startups experiencing hyper growth, and non-profits.

Okta API Products are used today by hundreds of organisations as their enterprise-wide identity API for developers.

Okta API Products for Developers, introduced last year, also made it easy for dev teams to use identity and access management on a small scale with Okta.

Now, with the launch of Okta API Products for One App, any app development team can take advantage of Okta API Products for a single app.

New developers can also opt to use API Products for One App for free by displaying "Identity by Okta" on the login page of their app.

Okta's new API Products for One App includes:

• Authentication and directory services – Easily drop authentication into any web or mobile app.
• Self-registration – Allow users that are actively a part of your community to self-register.
• Social authentication – Enable end users to log in with something they already know by enabling social login with streamlined OAuth 2.0 connections, rich user profiles and authorisation.
• Centralised identity management – Developers can take advantage of a central admin console for managing users, groups, apps, APIs, devices and policies.
• Secure multi-factor authentication – Leverage SMS-based one-time passcodes and/or the most secure experience, Okta Verify, for a second factor.
• Developer-friendly tools and controls – Use Okta's widgets, SDKs, toolkits, documentation, wizards and code snippets for modern environments to make it simple for developers to add modern identity to any app in minutes with full protocol, factor and policy support.
• REST API – Offer developers maximum control over the user experience and automating identity administration with direct access to the full granularity of the Okta REST API.

Nonprofit social enterprise TechSoup has helped one million NGOs globally gain access to the technology and services they need to build a more equitable planet.

With 70 partner NGOs around the world, TechSoup also manages the only global philanthropy programme that brings together over 100 tech companies to provide technology donations to NGOs worldwide.

TechSoup's platform enables member nonprofits to get donated products from top technology providers, find resources and training, and connect with peer organisations through community forums.

Now, with Okta's new identity offering, TechSoup will be able to power a more seamless, secure authentication experience to its member community.

"Our mission at TechSoup is to equip changemakers with the transformative technology solutions and skills they need to improve lives globally and locally.

"That means we need our own best-in-class solution to ensure the organisations we serve have access to the resources and information they need when they need it, all in a seamless way," says TechSoup enterprise architecture vice president Jackey Wall.

"We're also a nonprofit ourselves, and with Okta, we don't have to dedicate our resources to building authentication.

"Okta takes care of powering a simple, secure customer experience for our members – letting us focus on delivering the best programs possible to help our members have a positive impact on the world.

Today's complex threat landscape requires software providers to maintain complex authentication strategies in order to protect their customers' information.

Okta API Products for One App includes Okta Multi-Factor Authentication, removing that burden from developers, helping protect the sensitive information in their applications and freeing them up to solve other technical challenges.

With Okta MFA, developers can add strong authentication either at the initial login or through contextual step-up authentication for sensitive resources and actions throughout an app experience – providing stronger identity-driven security for their customers.

New developers can also add Okta MFA to their application for free if they display the "Identity by Okta" branding.

One company benefiting from Okta MFA is Namely, an HR platform that makes it easy for companies to handle their HR, payroll, time management, and benefits in one place.

With over 1,000 customers serving more than 175,000 employees globally, ensuring that their customers' sensitive personal information stays secure is a top priority.

"We set out to create an all-in-one Human Resource platform that employees actually love to use: powerful, simple technology that handles every need in one place. And because we handle such sensitive information about people, security is critical to our platform," says Namely chief revenue officer and president Graham Younger.

Okta API Products for One App is available starting today.