Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

AWS Directory Service VS Okta

Compare AWS Directory Service VS Okta and see what are their differences

AWS Directory Service logo AWS Directory Service

Directory Service from Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Okta logo Okta

Enterprise-grade identity management for all your apps, users & devices
  • AWS Directory Service Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-02-07
  • Okta Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-11

AWS Directory Service features and specs

  • Seamless Integration
    AWS Directory Service integrates smoothly with AWS services and applications, allowing for a centralized management of user directories and authentication.
  • Scalability
    The service is designed to scale automatically, accommodating increases in users and workloads without requiring manual intervention. This helps in managing growing organizations efficiently.
  • Managed Service
    Being a managed service, AWS Directory Service reduces the overhead associated with installing, patching, and maintaining directory infrastructure, thus freeing up resources for other tasks.
  • Security Features
    Offers multiple layers of security, including encryption at rest and in transit, integration with AWS IAM, and options for setting fine-grained access controls.
  • Multi-Region Deployment
    Supports deployment in multiple AWS Regions, which aids in business continuity and disaster recovery planning by enabling global, highly available applications.

Possible disadvantages of AWS Directory Service

  • Cost
    Depending on usage and configuration, costs can escalate, especially when deploying across multiple regions or utilizing high amounts of data storage.
  • Complexity for Small Organizations
    For smaller organizations or simpler use cases, setting up and managing AWS Directory Service may introduce unnecessary complexity compared to simpler authentication solutions.
  • Limited Customization
    While it provides ample features for many use cases, AWS Directory Service may lack specific customization options offered by more traditional, on-premises directory services.
  • Dependency on AWS Infrastructure
    Organizations heavily relying on AWS Directory Service may face challenges if they plan to migrate away from AWS due to tight integration with AWS infrastructure.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might face a learning curve when adapting to AWS Directory Service, especially those unfamiliar with Active Directory concepts or AWS management.

Okta features and specs

  • Comprehensive Identity Management
    Okta provides a full suite of identity management solutions, including Single Sign-On (SSO), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and Lifecycle Management to ensure secure and efficient identity management.
  • Ease of Integration
    Okta supports integration with thousands of apps and services, ensuring that you can easily incorporate it into your existing IT ecosystem.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The platform has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface that simplifies the setup and management of user identities, making it accessible for administrators with varying technical skills.
  • High Security Standards
    Okta employs strong authentication methods and security protocols, helping to ensure that your organization’s identities and data are well protected against threats.
  • Scalability
    Okta is designed to scale with your organization, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.
  • Excellent Customer Support
    Okta is known for providing high-quality customer support through various channels, including phone, email, and an extensive knowledge base.

Possible disadvantages of Okta

  • Cost
    The cost of Okta can be relatively high compared to some other identity management solutions, which might be a concern for smaller businesses with tight budgets.
  • Complexity for Small Organizations
    Some smaller organizations may find Okta's extensive range of features to be more complex than they need, potentially leading to underutilization of the platform.
  • Dependency on Internet Connectivity
    As a cloud-based service, Okta requires reliable internet connectivity. Any disruption in internet service can affect access to the Okta platform and its associated functionalities.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, there can be a learning curve associated with understanding and fully leveraging all of Okta’s features and capabilities.
  • Custom Development Needs
    While Okta offers an extensive range of pre-built integrations, organizations with very specific requirements may need to invest in custom development to achieve full functionality.

AWS Directory Service videos

AWS re:Invent 2015 | (SEC315) AWS Directory Service Deep Dive

More videos:

  • Review - AWS Directory Service: Configure and Administer Your AWS Managed Microsoft AD
  • Review - AWS Directory Service | Concept | Step By Step Configuration

Okta videos

Okta | What Does Okta Do?

More videos:

  • Review - Okta | What Is Okta?
  • Review - Okta User Experience

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AWS Directory Service and Okta)
Identity And Access Management
Identity Provider
5 5%
95% 95
SSO
3 3%
97% 97
HR
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare AWS Directory Service and Okta

AWS Directory Service Reviews

We have no reviews of AWS Directory Service yet.
Be the first one to post

Okta Reviews

Top 7 Firebase Alternatives for App Development in 2024
Okta is ideal for large-scale applications and enterprises with complex identity requirements.
Source: signoz.io
Top 10 Best SAML Identity Providers List for SSO (Pros and Cons)
Okta is one of the popular cloud solutions that allow SSO vendors to easily access cloud and on site applications via any device, from anywhere at any time with the use of robust security policies. Able to directly integrate with 4000+ applications and also existing directories and identity solutions a company uses. Primarily integrates every service that offers SAML.
12 User Authentication Platforms [Auth0, Firebase Alternatives]
Okta is again a flagbearer of password-less security. However, you can ask for the strongest passwords with Okta as well.
Source: geekflare.com
Top 11 Identity & Access Management Tools
Okta is a development tool for backend user identity and a workforce management solution. It is a flexible system that aims to be a one-stop solution for all IAM needs. Currently, Okta falls short on passwordless solutions, prompting users to change their passwords often. In addition, users also report some technical issues with logins.
Source: spectralops.io
Best identity access management software 2022
Okta enables organizations to secure and manage their extended enterprise, whether on-premises or in a private, public or hybrid cloud. With more than 6,000 pre-built integrations to applications and infrastructure providers, Okta claims that its customers can securely adopt the technologies they need to fulfil their missions. Okta provides SSO (single sign-on), MFA...
Source: www.zdnet.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Okta should be more popular than AWS Directory Service. It has been mentiond 7 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

AWS Directory Service mentions (2)

Okta mentions (7)

  • Are millions of accounts vulnerable due to Google's OAuth Flaw?
    Sign up for an Employee Identity Solution (IdP) that provides OAuth, there are actually many solutions here, Google Workspace, Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Ping Identity. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • How to use PassportJS for authentication in NodeJS
    The majority of the codebases I've worked on over the years have always favoured using JSON web-tokens (JWT) or Authentication-as-a-Service platforms (Auth0, Okta etc) for authentication logic. These are indeed excellent choices! however, on smaller projects I find these to always seem to be overkill. Recently I started working on a chrome extension that performs social sign-in using twitter OAuth API and... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Millennials, what confuses you about Gen Z?
    This happened to me three days ago! A new employee had trouble logging into our intranet, which is at OurCompanyName.okta.com. He was going to okta.com. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Access Control System (ACS) Architecture
    Maybe go to okta.com , they have some cool solutions, might give you some ideas. Source: over 3 years ago
  • GameStop knows. DRS 💜
    Okta.com is being used by gamestop to power the login to the creator platform. their favicon is a dark blue circle. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing AWS Directory Service and Okta, you can also consider the following products

OneLogin - On-demand SSO, directory integration, user provisioning and more

Auth0 - Auth0 is a program for people to get authentication and authorization services for their own business use.

JumpCloud - Cloud-based directory services. Alternative to Microsoft Active Directory.

Microsoft Azure Active Directory - Azure Active Directory is a comprehensive identity and access management cloud solution that provides a robust set of capabilities to manage users and groups and help secure access to applications including Microsoft online services like Office 365 …

Oracle Identity Manager - Oracle Identity Management enables oganizations to effectively manage the end-to-end lifecycle of user identities across all enterprise resources.

Amazon Cognito - Amazon Cognito lets you add user sign-up, sign-in, and access control to your web and mobile apps quickly and easily. It scales to millions of users and supports sign-in with social identity providers and enterprise identity providers via SAML 2.0.