Investing in Single Sign-On Security: Fuze and Okta

Rob Scott discusses Okta with technology leaders: Fuze

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FuzeOktaSSO
Unified Communications

Published: May 22, 2018

Rob Scott

Rob Scott

Publisher

Security has always been one of the biggest concerns for any business. As problems like toll fraud, cybersecurity, and ransomware become even more a threat, and regulations like GDPR hit the headlines, every organisation is looking for the perfect way to lock up their communications. Okta, the leading independent provider of enterprise identity management, offers a unique integrated system for next-level security.

Okta offers services that allow modern customers to securely and easily adapt the tools they need for digital transformation, without compromising on security. In preparation for the upcoming Oktane18 event, and following the enhanced partnership between Fuze and Okta, we caught up with Fuze VP of Products Michael Affronti. I had the opportunity to speak with Michael about the importance of security in the current marketplace, and the forward-thinking collaboration between Okta and Fuze.

What is Okta?

To start the conversation, I asked Michael to give me his description of what Okta is, and what the company means to the Fuze roadmap. He told me that Okta leads the market in identity management. “We use their systems here at Fuze, and we also put a lot of work into adopting the underlying standards that Okta is based on before we began to implement their technology. That means that the level of security Okta provides is layered throughout the Fuze ecosystem.”

“Okta is a single-sign-on provider that helps to aggregate identity information in a single place, allowing for easy access to the tools an enterprise needs for digital transformation (DX). Essentially, you can click on the Okta tab in your user interface and sign onto everything from the Helpdesk to Salesforce with the click of a button.”

“There’s no need to type your credentials into dozens of different tools. “By working with single sign-on, we’ve made sure that Fuze customers can take our platform and put it into any provider that offers identity management, including Fuze.”

Fuze Has Worked with Okta since 2014: What’s New Now?

The connection between Fuze and Okta is nothing new. In fact, the two companies have been working together since 2014. However, there has been an update in their partnership lately that makes the collaboration even more exciting. “We’ve been working specifically with Okta to make it easier to configure our services with their security. Integration at the app layers means that anyone can go into the Okta app exchange, download the Fuze module, and plug it securely into their environment.”

According to Affronti, now that countless enterprises are making the move into the cloud for unified communications, it’s more important than ever to keep things streamlined and secure.

“We find that most customers either use Azure AD or they’ve moved to Okta already. Okta has quickly emerged as the standard if you want to offer something secure that encompasses multiple options for identity.”

Michael told me that one of the things that make the collaboration between Fuze and Okta so great is the fact that they both do a lot of business with similar types of customers. “We have an amazing synergy in terms of our go-to-market.”

How Important is Security to Fuze?

When it comes to addressing the importance of high-level security in the UC marketplace, Michael told me that every business is consistently devoting more effort to keeping their systems safe. “I think we’re seeing this demand for security across the board. The information you have about your people is critical, and no-one should have access to it except for you. I love the fact that we can go to customers who say that they work with Okta, because this means that Fuze doesn’t have to touch that customer’s data, we can leave security in the hands of the experts.”

While Affronti noted that many customers can confidently and securely export their active directory up to Fuze, he believes that Okta is the “gold standard.”

Cloud Communications Security is a Priority

It seems obvious to me that security is a critical concern for Fuze. I asked Michael whether he thinks that the company needs to address anything else to offer next-level safety for their customers. He told me that the business recently announced Fuze 5.0, and they’ve been doing a lot of work on allowing guests into the Fuze platform.

“We’ll be continuing to do more work with this external communications journey, to give people the best balance of flexibility and security. As we continue to increase the number of things that guests can do when they come into the Fuze platform, we’ll need to increase the security available too.”

To Fuze, security will always be an ongoing process. Affronti told me that “Every time we think about doing something new or shipping something different into the market, we automatically build security around it. We believe that everything we ship should be safe and ready to use, so that customers don’t have to customise everything to suit their privacy needs.”

The Upcoming Oktane18 Event

As part of their upgraded partnership, Fuze will be exhibiting as a platinum sponsor for the upcoming Oktane18 event, which promises to provide attendees with the latest information on lifecycle and access management, platform security, mobility, and identity.

The Oktane18 event starts today (22nd) and runs until the 24th of May in Las Vegas, with keynote speakers including former President Barack Obama, Mae Jemison, and Aimee Mullins.

 

 

 

Digital TransformationSecurity and ComplianceService ProviderUCaaS
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