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Startups are aggressively leveraging technology to help keep their operations streamlined and their costs low. As such, startups tend to use many web-based applications to get work done due to the predictable low costs that come with these subscription-based products. As these SaaS applications flood a startup’s IT environment, the web application single sign-on (SSO) market often catches their attention.
Web app SSO is an authentication method that allows users to sign in to various web applications using one set of credentials. It is one important part of a larger identity and access management (IAM) solution that IT admins leverage to improve security, user productivity, efficiency, and compliance.
One web app SSO vendor is OneLogin; however, OneLogin’s target market is centered around mid- and enterprise-size organizations, not startups, and the recent news of their acquisition by One Identity further cements this focus. So, as IT admins begin to look into these solutions and find OneLogin, they begin asking what the best OneLogin alternatives for startups are.
Luckily, there are some great OneLogin alternatives that can do more for a startup’s IT environment than just web application SSO. Before picking out an IAM/SSO solution, it’s important to recognize how OneLogin SSO is only a small part of IAM as a whole, why startups need an integrated IAM and SSO solution, and what alternatives to OneLogin exist.
OneLogin SSO Only Solves One Problem
There’s more to a startup’s IT environment than web apps, and as the organization scales and evolves to meet its goals, more tools (both software and hardware) are added into the mix. Even if OneLogin SSO works for a while, eventually, you’ll need to transition over to a fully fledged identity and access management platform to keep up with your IAM needs. Plus, considering OneLogin SSO is marketed towards larger organizations, it makes more sense to implement a holistic IAM platform with built-in SSO capabilities up front that can scale with you and remain relevant at every stage of growth that your organization goes through.
Consider this — many startups need to control user access to cross-OS devices (Windows, Mac, and Linux), cloud and on-prem servers, on-prem applications, virtual and local storage such as Samba file servers and NAS appliances, WiFi networks, VPNs, and more. All of these IT resources need to be managed and controlled, and unfortunately, web app SSO solutions don’t cover many of these areas.
Why Startups Need an IAM and SSO Solution
As a startup, your organization is beginning to lay the foundation for everything that’s to come — this includes establishing baselines, initial processes, finding tools that fit within your budget but are scalable, and more. All of these are important for facilitating growth, keeping costs down through efficient practices, and creating the necessary infrastructure that investors will look at when making a financial decision later on down the line. Those investors will want to ensure that your organization is secure, compliant, and productive — all of this paves the way for future profitability and employee and customer satisfaction.
To reach these goals, something that we recommend implementing early on is a comprehensive IAM solution with single sign-on capabilities. This type of solution is more long-term than a web app SSO solution such as OneLogin — taking your identity and access management seriously earlier rather than later will set you up for success moving forward. It means you won’t have to worry about transitioning between vendors later on, implementing a point solution such as OneLogin SSO where you have to also implement separate solutions to solve other related issues, or combating web app SSO hidden costs.
OneLogin Alternatives for Startups
Ultimately, startups look for OneLogin alternatives because it’s perceived as a popular web-app SSO provider, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the software meets the unique needs of a startup. Startups are often tight on cash and resources, and they want to leverage technology to keep their employees operating at a fast pace. With the frequent use of web apps in a startup environment, web app SSO solutions are commonly evaluated early on. However, after some research, decision-makers at startups start to see that web app SSO solutions can get pricey, and these point solutions are not nearly broad enough to be worth investing in.
SSO Point Solution Vendors:
- OneLogin (acquired by One Identity)
- Okta (acquired Auth0)
- Cyberark (acquired Idaptive)
- LastPass (acquired by LogMeIn)
- Duo Security (acquired by Cisco)
- Rippling
- Keeper Password Manager
The common theme among point solutions in the IAM sector is: acquisitions. SSO point solutions are constantly being bought and merged into the acquiring organization’s stack of disparate IAM solutions. This highlights a current market shift from one-off solutions to comprehensive identity management solutions. However, acquisitions bring with them many unknowns and difficulties.
Modern IAM Solutions:
The JumpCloud Directory Platform is a modern, comprehensive IAM and SSO solution that provides startups with a cloud directory, SSO capabilities to virtually all IT resources (not just web apps), cross-OS device management, mobile device management (MDM), multi-factor authentication (MFA), efficient onboarding and offboarding, privileged access management, and much more! JumpCloud consistently receives glowing reviews from users and is regularly named a leader across a wide variety of G2 grid reports, including being #1 in the primary SSO category and many other SSO sub-categories.
Traditional IAM Solutions:
- Microsoft Active Directory + Azure Active Directory
Active Directory (AD) is the legacy on-prem directory service that was built for IT environments that solely use Windows-based resources and live within the confines of their domain. Azure Active Directory is the cloud-based solution Microsoft created to attempt to address the modern limitations of AD. These two solutions are typically used in conjunction with one another, still with limited functionality compared to modern options.
JumpCloud – One of the Best OneLogin Alternatives for Startups
Why do startups choose JumpCloud as their IAM and SSO solution? Although each organization that uses JumpCloud has unique needs, it primarily comes down to functionality, scalability, modernization, and cost.
Many OneLogin customers have made the switch to JumpCloud, and the JumpCloud Directory Platform also functions as an Active Directory replacement. JumpCloud is a much more comprehensive alternative to OneLogin SSO that works as a long-term solution for any size organization.
What Makes JumpCloud a Viable Alternative?
Our cloud-based directory service features deep device and user management capabilities and the ability to integrate with virtually any IT resource regardless of location, provider, protocol, or platform. From one pane of glass, IT admins can securely control user access to the following:
- Windows, Mac, and Linux devices
- Local and cloud servers
- LDAP and SAML based applications via SSO
- Cloud and physical file storage
- VPNs and WiFi networks
Check out the functionality that JumpCloud offers, and check out this case study about Grab, which has been able to onboard thousands of users over the past few years with JumpCloud.
Try JumpCloud Free
See how JumpCloud’s modern, simplified IAM solution with True SSO can help your startup improve its bottom line, save time, and improve productivity. Create a JumpCloud Free account to access the entirety of the platform.
