Okta picks up Auth0 for $6.5bn

Identity and access management (IAM) specialists Okta and Auth0 are to come together in a $6.5bn (€5.4bn/£4.65bn) acquisition that the firms claim will accelerate a “shared vision of enabling everyone to safely use any technology”.

The all-stock transaction, which was signed off today, is one of the largest cyber security deals of recent times and, it is hoped, will enable the two firms to address an even broader set of IAM use cases than at present, as well as spurring new growth in the IAM sector.

Okta said Auth0 will continue to operate as an independent business, with both firms’ platforms continuing to be supported and invested in, although a future integration between the two is planned over time.

“Combining Auth0’s developer-centric identity solution with the Okta Identity Cloud will drive tremendous value for both current and future customers,” said Todd McKinnon, Okta’s CEO and co-founder.

“In an increasingly digital world, identity is the unifying means by which we use technology – both at work and in our personal lives. With so much at stake for businesses today, it’s critical that we deliver trusted customer-facing identity solutions. Okta and Auth0’s shared vision for the identity market, rooted in customer success, will accelerate our innovation, opening up new ways for our customers to leverage identity to meet their business needs.

“We are thrilled to join forces with the Auth0 team, as they are ideal allies in building identity for the internet and establishing identity as a primary cloud,” he said.

The firms said the tie-up would give customers more choice in selecting the IAM service that meets their needs, with the complementary platforms both “robust enough” and “flexible enough” to address multiple identity use cases across a wide range of organisations.

Already a critical element of any organisation’s security posture thanks to overarching trends such as increased cloud usage, hybrid IT, zero trust and digital transformation in general, the importance of IAM has skyrocketed during the pandemic as remote working forces users outside of the confines of the enterprise network, and the sector is now valued at $55bn.

Okta and Auth0 said organisations everywhere now had to quickly leverage identity to streamline their disrupted processes, reduce their increasing costs, and improve customer and user experiences, all the while maintaining high levels of security.

“Okta and Auth0 have an incredible opportunity to build the identity platform of the future,” said Eugenio Pace, CEO and co-founder of Auth0. “We founded Auth0 to enable product builders to innovate with a secure, easy-to-use and extensible customer identity platform.

“Together, we can offer our customers workforce and customer identity solutions with exceptional speed, simplicity, security, reliability and scalability. By joining forces, we will accelerate our customers’ innovation and ability to meet the needs and demands of consumers, businesses and employees everywhere.”