Microsoft Entra Connect Sync and Okta run nearly neck and neck in recommendations across workforce identity, single sign-on, and directory management. For privileged access management integrated with an identity provider, Delinea is the usual answer.
Since July, Ciscorising has become the most named option when connecting VPNs to SAML identity providers, while AWS Client VPNfalling is named regularly. JumpCloudrising has expanded its presence across the market.
Latest insights
Week of Sep 21–27 · Since Jul 5
Okta Gap between platforms: Okta's platform gap in Identity and Access Management (IAM) Platforms widened: ChatGPT Search 60.9%, Google AI Mode 45.8%
Microsoft Entra Connect Sync Gaining: Microsoft Entra Connect Sync's mention rate in Identity and Access Management (IAM) Platforms rose 6 points to 79.3%
Google Workspace Gap between platforms: Google AI Mode now mentions Google Workspace 7.3 points more often than ChatGPT Search in Identity and Access Management (IAM) Platforms, a narrowed gap
Ping Identity Slipping: Ping Identity dropped 1 place to rank #7 of 100 in Identity and Access Management (IAM) Platforms
Ping Identity Gap between platforms: Ping Identity's platform gap in Identity and Access Management (IAM) Platforms narrowed: Google AI Mode 30.6%, ChatGPT Search 15.3%
39% of citations point at the ranked brands’ own sites. reddit.com, startwithidentity.com, youtube.com are the most-cited sites outside the ranked brands’ own domains.
For a startup with fewer than 100 employees, I'd recommend Google Workspace if you already use Google, or JumpCloud if you want a dedicated SSO provider that's easy to grow with. If you use Microsoft 365, Microsoft Entra ID may be the simplest option because it integrates with your existing environment.
The key distinction is whether you want SSO for your employees to access company apps, or SSO for customers to log in to your own software. The recommendations below focus on employee SSO.
I need to set up single sign-on for my startup. Which platforms integrate easily with our existing email and productivity suite accounts?
We're a growing startup and need a simple solution for Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to secure our apps. Where should I start?
We need a central system to manage identities and access for thousands of employees and contractors. What's the best Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution with robust lifecycle management?
I need an enterprise-grade identity governance platform that can handle complex compliance requirements, access reviews, and detailed analytics. What are the best options?
What are the leading enterprise-grade tools for identity governance that feature robust analytics, compliance management, and automated access reviews?
I am looking for an enterprise identity governance solution that supports complex compliance needs, includes access review capabilities, and provides deep analytics. What should I consider?
Our small business is expanding and we need a way to manage who has access to which apps and systems. What's the best type of access management software for a non-technical manager to use?
Combines SSO, multi-factor authentication (MFA), user directory, and optional device management. It offers self-service purchasing and a 30-day trial, making it practical for a small team without a dedicated IT department.
Published SSO plan: $11/user/month billed annually, or $13 monthly.
2. Google Workspace — Easiest for Google-first teams
If your company already uses Gmail and Google Workspace, starting with its existing identity environment minimizes the number of systems you need to manage. Check your edition's support for the specific SSO features and third-party apps you need.
3. Microsoft Entra ID — Easiest for Microsoft 365 teams
A natural choice if your company already uses Microsoft 365. SSO is included in Entra ID plans, and P1 costs $7/user/month with annual billing when purchased separately. Some Microsoft 365 plans already include P1.
A strong choice when you need broad app integrations and expect identity management requirements to grow. Its Workforce Identity Starter plan lists SSO and MFA at $6/user/month, though you should verify the applicable minimums and contract terms.
For a startup with 10–99 employees and no dedicated identity engineer, I'd shortlist JumpCloud and your existing productivity-suite provider first. A provider that fits your current environment will usually be easier to deploy and maintain than adding a new identity platform.
Before choosing, verify that your plan supports SAML or OIDC SSO for your essential apps, MFA enforcement, and automatic account deprovisioning when employees leave.
One question that would help me give you a more definitive answer: Which setup does your startup currently use?
For a startup with under 100 employees, the "easiest" SSO provider depends on whether you mean securing employee access to third-party apps (Internal/Workforce SSO ) or adding a login button to your own product for customers (Customer Identity).
Assuming you mean Internal/Workforce SSO (managing how your team logs into Slack, Notion, Google Workspace, GitHub, etc.), the easiest options break down by your current tech stack:
Google Workspace (Built-in)
Best for: Startups already using Google for business email.
Why it's easiest: If your team already logs into Google Workspace, you essentially already have a basic IdP. You can enable SAML/SSO connections for external apps directly through the Google Admin console without deploying a separate service.
Best for: Lean teams that need unified control over employee laptops (Mac/PC) and app access.
Why it's easiest: JumpCloud is an open directory platform designed specifically for SMBs and startups. It provides a clean, modern UI that doesn't require a dedicated enterprise IT specialist to configure, and they offer a free tier for your first 10 users.
Best for: Startups operating inside the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
Why it's easiest: Like Google, if you already pay for Microsoft 365 business tiers, Entra ID is bundled in or easily upgradeable, avoiding a separate vendor relationship and invoice.
Best for: Startups anticipating rapid enterprise growth or needing heavy compliance standards (SOC 2, ISO 27001) out of the gate.
Why it's easiest: They are the gold standard with pre-built connectors for literally thousands of apps. However, they are overkill and more expensive/complex for a tiny team compared to using Google or JumpCloud.
For a startup, I’d shortlist Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, JumpCloud, and Google Cloud Identity. The right choice mainly depends on whether your existing email/productivity stack is Google or Microsoft.
Tool
Best fit
Key strength
Okta
Mixed SaaS stack
Vendor-neutral SSO + broad app integrations; starts at $6/user/month. www.okta.com
Microsoft Entra ID
Microsoft 365
Natural integration with Microsoft identities, apps, Conditional Access, and SCIM.
JumpCloud
Small IT teams
SSO + directory + device management; can synchronize Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 identities.
Google Cloud Identity
Google Workspace
Convenient if Google is already your identity/email backbone.
My practical rule: Google Workspace → Google/JumpCloud; Microsoft 365 → Entra; mixed SaaS/ecosystem → Okta.
If your startup is already using a productivity and email suite like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 , you might not actually need a heavy third-party tool right away. Both ecosystems double as identity providers (IdPs) and include native single sign-on (SSO) capabilities.
The best options for a startup depend on whether you want to stretch your current stack or layer on a dedicated directory and device manager.
1. The Built-In Approach (Best for Tight Budgets)
Google Workspace (Built-in SSO / Cloud Identity): If you use Google for email, your user directory is already there. Higher tiers (and Google Cloud Identity) let you configure SAML and OIDC integrations so employees can log into third-party apps (like GitHub, Slack, or Notion) using their corporate @yourcompany.com Google credentials.
Pros: Free or already included in your existing per-user subscription; zero extra infrastructure to manage.
Cons: Lacks advanced device management or granular conditional access unless you upgrade to pricier enterprise tiers.[]()
2. If you are securing Customer Logins (For B2B/B2C SaaS apps you are building)
Auth0 by Okta: The industry heavyweight for developer-focused customer identity. Extremely reliable, handles complex social logins, enterprise SAML/SSO, and MFA out of the box.[](https://cipherssecurity.com/okta-alternatives-for-sso/)
Clerk or WorkOS: Extremely fast-growing modern alternatives specifically built for modern web stacks. WorkOS is exceptional if you need to quickly add Enterprise SSO (SAML) to close B2B deals, while Clerk offers an incredible drop-in developer experience for user management.[](https://.com/blog/top-mfa-providers-2026)
Your Action Plan
Define the scope: Are you trying to stop employees from getting phished, or do you need to offer SAML/SSO to enterprise customers using your software?[](https://workos.com/blog/top-mfa-providers-2026)
Audit what you have: Check if your current workspace provider (like Google or Microsoft) already handles baseline MFA.
For a growing startup, I’d start by buying rather than building your own identity system. The core architecture is:
Your apps → Identity Provider (IdP) → SSO + MFA
The IdP handles login, MFA, session management, password policies, and—when needed—federation with customers’ identity systems.
1. Decide what kind of SSO you actually need
There are two common scenarios:
Workforce SSO: Your employees sign into Slack, GitHub, AWS, internal apps, etc. Look at Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, or similar workforce identity platforms.
Customer/application SSO: Your customers sign into your SaaS product. Look at Auth0/Okta Customer Identity, WorkOS, Clerk, or similar developer-focused CIAM platforms.
For a 50-person startup, I’d look at WorkOS first if you mean SSO for customers using your SaaS product. It’s developer-focused, supports SAML/OIDC and SCIM, and has a generous user-management tier; enterprise SSO is priced per connection.
Other good fits:
Clerk — very easy setup, especially for React/Next.js apps.
Auth0 — broader authentication platform if you need consumer + enterprise login together.
Okta — better if you mean SSO for your own 50 employees' internal apps, rather than SSO into your product.
If you tell me whether this is employee SSO or customer-facing SSO, I can narrow it to 2–3 choices.
For a startup with around 50 users, the best SSO provider depends on whether you mean securing your internal team's access to SaaS tools (like Slack, GitHub, Google Workspace) or adding customer-facing SSO to a product you are building.
Assuming you mean internal IT/workspace access for your 50 employees, here are the top, easy-to-set-up options:
For an organization managing thousands of employees and contractors, I’d prioritize an Identity and Access Management (IAM) platform with strong Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) capabilities, rather than a solution focused only on single sign-on (SSO) and multifactor authentication (MFA).
The most important capability is end-to-end identity lifecycle management: automatically provisioning access when someone joins, adjusting permissions when their role changes, and promptly revoking access when they leave. That should work consistently across cloud applications, on-premises systems, directories, and contractor accounts.
The leading IAM solutions to evaluate
1. SailPoint Identity Security Cloud
(Best initial shortlist for IGA)
Best to evaluate when enterprise-scale identity governance is the primary requirement. Look for automated joiner-mover-leaver workflows, role-based provisioning, access certifications, policy enforcement, and governance across a complex application estate.
Official site:
2. Saviynt Identity Governance and Administration
Strong alternative for complex hybrid environments, contractors, compliance-heavy organizations, and detailed entitlement governance. Its platform emphasizes lifecycle automation, access reviews, policy controls, and centralized governance across cloud and on-premises resources.
Official site:
3. Microsoft Entra ID Governance
Best candidate if your organization already relies heavily on Microsoft 365, Azure, and Active Directory. It supports lifecycle workflows, access packages, external partner access, access reviews, and automated access removal.
Official site:
4. Okta Identity Governance
A strong choice when you want a cloud-first identity platform with broad application integrations and a unified approach to provisioning, SSO, and governance. Its governance offering combines Lifecycle Management, Workflows, and access governance capabilities.
Official site:
Which one would I choose?
Your main priority
My recommendation
Deep enterprise identity governance and lifecycle control
SailPoint
Complex entitlements, hybrid systems, and compliance
Saviynt
Microsoft-centric environment and simpler integration
Microsoft Entra ID Governance
Cloud-first workforce identity and broad SaaS integrations
Okta
These are shortlist recommendations, not a definitive performance ranking. The best choice depends on your application estate, existing infrastructure, and governance requirements.
Must-have capabilities for thousands of identities
Before selecting a vendor, validate these six requirements in a proof of concept:
Automated joiner-mover-leaver workflows: HR-triggered account creation, role changes, and timely deprovisioning.
Contractor lifecycle management: Sponsor ownership, contract end dates, expiration, and automatic access revocation.
Broad integrations: HRIS, Active Directory, cloud platforms, SaaS applications, and critical legacy systems.
Auditability: Searchable logs, approval history, access-change evidence, and compliance reporting.
Scalability and resilience: Reliable bulk provisioning, API limits, recovery processes, and predictable licensing at your expected identity count.
One important distinction: centralized SSO does not automatically provide centralized governance. Make sure the product can actually provision and revoke entitlements in your critical applications, not merely authenticate users.
Let’s narrow it down to the best fit
The single most useful question is: What is your current environment primarily built on?
Managing identities and access governance for thousands of employees and contractors requires robust Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) combined with lifecycle automation . Leading analysts and enterprise deployment patterns highlight a few standout platforms depending on your core infrastructure:
To help narrow down which system fits your environment best, could you share:
I need guidance on IAM strategies for handling permissions and access rights for a large, mixed workforce of employees and external contractors.
Managing access for a large, mixed workforce of employees and external contractors requires a robust Identity and Access Management (IAM) strategy that balances security with operational agility . Because contractors have different risk profiles, lifecycles, and legal obligations than full-time employees, treating them identically creates major security gaps or friction.
Here is a structured, actionable guide to building an IAM strategy for a blended workforce:
Separation of Directories & Identity Lifecycles
Employee Identity : Anchor employee identities in your core HR system (e.g., Workday, BambooHR) to automate provisioning and de-provisioning based on their employment status.
Contractor Identity : Route contractor identities through a distinct Lifecycle Management or Vendor Management System (VMS) integrated into your External Identity Provider (IdP), ensuring they are kept separate from core corporate directories.
Automated Expiration : Enforce mandatory, hard expiration dates for all contractor accounts at the time of creation based on their Statement of Work (SOW) or contract terms.
Role-Based & Attribute-Based Access Control (RBAC/ABAC)
Least Privilege Enforcement : Scope contractor access strictly using task-specific roles rather than blanket departmental access.
ChatGPT Search· Oct 5, 2026
For a large mixed workforce (employees, contractors, vendors, partners, temporary staff), a strong Identity and Access Management (IAM) strategy should avoid treating all users the same. The goal is to provide the right access to the right resources for the right amount of time, while making access decisions based on identity, role, risk, and business context. Modern IAM programs often align with Zero Trust principles, where access is continuously evaluated rather than granted permanently based only on network location.
1. Establish a unified identity model
Create a single source of truth for identities:
Employees
Managed through HR-driven identity lifecycle processes.
I need to set up IAM processes for a large workforce including employees and external contractors. What are the standard approaches for handling their permissions?
For a large workforce of employees and external contractors, the standard approach is to build an Identity and Access Management (IAM) program around centralized identity management, role-based permissions, least privilege, and automated access lifecycle controls.
The key is to manage not just who can access a system, but also what they can do, why they need access, who approved it, and when that access must end.
Guidance from NIST and CISA supports combining these controls with strong authentication, periodic access reviews, and time-limited privileged access.
1. Standard approaches to assigning permissions
Most large organizations use a combination of these access-control models rather than relying on a single method.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Assign permissions to predefined roles based on job responsibilities, then assign users to those roles.
Example: A finance analyst can view financial reports; a finance manager can also approve transactions.
Best foundation for a large workforce
Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)
Evaluate attributes such as department, project, location, employment type, data sensitivity, and contract status when granting access.
Example: A contractor can access a particular project workspace only while assigned to that project.
If you already use a specific identity provider (IdP) and want SSH certificate-based access to your servers, three strong options are Smallstep SSH, Teleport, and StrongDM. The best fit depends on whether you want to add SSH certificates to your existing workflow or deploy a broader privileged-access platform.
Leading options
1. Smallstep SSH
Best for integrating an existing IdP directly with OpenSSH certificate authentication. Supports Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, and Google Workspace, with OIDC authentication and SCIM-based user and group synchronization. Issues short-lived SSH certificates and maps IdP groups to server access.
Website:
2. Teleport
Best for centralized access to servers and other infrastructure. Users authenticate through your SSO provider, and Teleport issues short-lived SSH and TLS certificates with permissions mapped from IdP roles.
Website:
3. StrongDM
Best for centrally brokered access, just-in-time SSH certificates, and session auditing. It integrates with several IdPs, including Okta, Entra ID, and Ping Identity. Its own CA is the default; supported third-party SSH CAs include HashiCorp Vault and Keyfactor EJBCA on eligible Enterprise plans.
Website:
Which should you choose?
Smallstep SSH — if your main goal is to connect your existing identity provider to short-lived SSH certificates without replacing OpenSSH.
Teleport — if you want a broader infrastructure access platform with certificate issuance and role-based authorization.
StrongDM — if you want centralized, brokered access with auditing and just-in-time credentials.
One question to narrow it down: Which identity provider do you currently use — Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Ping Identity, Google Workspace, or something else?
Here are the primary options depending on whether you want an open-source/self-hosted utility, an enterprise secrets manager, or an identity-native access platform:
If you share which specific identity provider you are using (e.g., Okta, Entra ID, Google) and where your servers are hosted (AWS, on-premise, hybrid), I can recommend the tightest and most seamless integration option.
I need an IAM platform that can act as an SSH certificate authority to issue short-lived credentials for my Linux servers. Which ones do you recommend?
When looking for an IAM or access platform that operates as an SSH certificate authority (CA) to issue short-lived credentials for Linux servers, a few specialized and enterprise-grade solutions stand out.
Top recommendations depend on your infrastructure layout, integration preferences, and whether you need a dedicated access proxy or a pure secrets engine:
Teleport : Built from the ground up around native SSH and infrastructure certificates . It acts as an identity-aware access proxy and an internal CA that integrates smoothly with standard OIDC/SAML identity providers (like Okta, Google Workspace, or Azure AD/Entra ID). It issues short-lived user and host certificates, logs interactive sessions, and completely removes the need for static authorized_keys management. Learn more at Teleport Access Platform.[](https://goteleport.com/blog/ssh-certificates/)[[2](https://goteleport.com/how-it-works)](https://goteleport.com/how-it-works/)
Can you recommend IAM software that provides short-lived SSH certificates for Linux server authentication?
For a growing small business with a non-technical manager, I’d recommend cloud-based Identity and Access Management (IAM) software, ideally a platform that includes Single Sign-On (SSO), automated employee onboarding and offboarding, and simple access controls.
Think of it as a central control panel for your business apps: instead of managing separate usernames, passwords, and permissions in every system, you manage employee access in one place.
What type of software should you look for?
1. Identity and Access Management (IAM)
(Best overall fit)
Centralizes who can access which apps, makes it easier to grant or revoke access, and helps keep permissions organized as you hire.
2. Single Sign-On (SSO)
Lets employees sign in once to access multiple approved applications. It reduces password friction, though SSO alone doesn't necessarily manage every permission inside each app.
3. Identity Governance and Administration (IGA)
Adds more formal controls, such as access reviews, approval workflows, and tracking who is entitled to sensitive systems. It may be more than a small business needs at first.
Which software should you consider?
These are three sensible starting points, depending on the tools your business already uses.
Microsoft Entra ID
Best if your business already uses Microsoft 365, Outlook, and Windows. It integrates with Microsoft's ecosystem and supports app access, SSO, and multifactor authentication.
Explore:
Source:
Okta Workforce Identity
Best if you use a mix of business apps from different vendors and want centralized logins, app access management, and onboarding workflows.
Explore:
Source:
JumpCloud
Best if you want one cloud-based console for employee identities, app access, and potentially computer and device management as well.
Explore:
Source:
What matters most for a non-technical manager?
When evaluating demos, prioritize these five features:
Visual access management: See which employees have access to each app.
Role-based access: Assign permissions by job role, such as sales, finance, or operations.
Easy onboarding and offboarding: Grant access to new hires and revoke it promptly when someone leaves.
Multifactor authentication (MFA): Require an additional verification step to protect accounts.
Simple integrations: Connect your existing apps without requiring extensive coding or custom IT work.
One important distinction: removing an employee from an SSO portal doesn't always deactivate their account in every connected app. Look for automated provisioning and deprovisioning, and verify which integrations support it.
Let’s narrow it down to the best fit
I can give you a more specific recommendation if you tell me one thing: what does your business primarily use today?
1. Your main business software
Microsoft 365 / Outlook / Windows
Google Workspace / Gmail
A mix of apps, such as Slack, Salesforce, and QuickBooks
Instead of managing access app-by-app (which becomes an administrative nightmare), an IdP acts as a master directory. You give an employee one secure login, and from a simple dashboard, you control which apps they can see and use. When they leave the company, flipping one switch revokes their access to everything instantly.
Top-recommended, user-friendly options suited for non-technical managers include:
JumpCloud: Highly recommended for small businesses because it combines user identity, app access, and basic device management into a single, clean dashboard without requiring a dedicated IT department.[](]()]()
I need a cloud-based identity management system that works well for a small business IT team. What are the top options?
We are a growing small business looking for an identity and access management tool that is simple enough for a non-technical manager to operate. What do you recommend?
Best identity and access management tools for contractor-heavy businesses
If your business works with many contractors, the best identity and access management (IAM) solution is one that can provision access quickly, limit contractors to the resources they need, and revoke all access promptly when a contract ends — without relying on manual IT checklists.
I'd prioritize tools with automated onboarding/offboarding, integrations with your existing apps, contractor-specific expiration dates, multifactor authentication (MFA), and auditable access controls.
Top tools to consider
1. Okta
(Best for diverse SaaS environments)
Okta is a strong candidate if contractors need access to many different business applications. Its lifecycle management capabilities support provisioning and deprovisioning users across integrated applications, helping IT avoid manually updating every system.
Best for: Businesses using a wide range of cloud apps and needing centralized sign-on and access administration.
Entra supports lifecycle workflows, access packages, approval processes, recurring access reviews, and automated removal of expired or revoked guest access. This makes it particularly relevant when contractors work in Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint, and Azure. Some governance features require additional licensing.
Best for: Businesses already standardized on Microsoft 365 and wanting stronger governance of external users.
JumpCloud centralizes identity, application access, and device management. It supports automated account creation, access changes, and deactivation, including across distributed teams and mixed IT environments.
Best for: Small and midsize businesses that want to simplify identity and device administration without stitching together many separate tools.
Rippling is worth evaluating if your main challenge is coordinating contractor records, start and end dates, and downstream IT provisioning from one workforce system. Assess its contractor workflows and the specific identity and application integrations included in your proposed plan.
Best for: Businesses that want workforce administration and IT provisioning closely connected.
A candidate for organizations that need more extensive identity governance, permission controls, and auditability across complex environments. Evaluate the implementation effort and how well its governance workflows match your contractor lifecycle.
Best for: Larger organizations, regulated industries, and complex permission environments.
These are qualitative recommendations, not a benchmark of pricing or implementation time. Actual capabilities depend on the plan, integrations, and configuration.
What to require for secure contractor management
Regardless of which platform you select, I recommend making these six controls non-negotiable:
1. Automatic contract expiration
Tie access to a verified contract end date. Require an approved extension rather than letting access continue indefinitely.
2. MFA and single sign-on (SSO)
Require strong authentication, preferably phishing-resistant passkeys or security keys for sensitive access.
3. Least-privilege access
Assign access by client, project, role, or department. Contractors should not inherit broad employee permissions by default.
4. Centralized offboarding
Disable the identity and revoke sessions, application access, VPN access, and privileged credentials as appropriate when a contract ends.
5. Approval and audit trail
Record who approved access, what was granted, when it was removed, and whether the offboarding workflow completed successfully.
6. Periodic access reviews
Have project owners confirm that active contractors still need each permission, particularly access to sensitive data or production systems.
My recommendation
Start with Rippling IT if your biggest pain point is automating the contractor lifecycle from a central workforce record.
Choose Okta if you have a broad, heterogeneous SaaS environment and need centralized application provisioning.
Choose Microsoft Entra ID Governance if Microsoft 365 is your core environment and external-user governance is the priority.
Before buying, test a complete contractor lifecycle in a pilot: create a contractor, grant approved access, change their project, expire their contract, and verify that access is actually revoked across every connected system.
Let's narrow it down
One question will help me identify the best fit: what does your current IT environment look like?
1. Approximately how many contractors do you manage?
Managing a large contractor workforce is uniquely challenging because contractors typically cycle in and out faster than full-time employees, often bypass traditional HR systems of record , and require tightly scoped, temporary access.[](https://www.openiam.com/what-is-contractor-management)
To simplify onboarding and offboarding securely, top Identity and Access Management (IAM) and workforce lifecycle tools focus on automated provisioning/deprovisioning, role-based access control (RBAC) , and time-bound expiration policies.
Top IAM Tools for Contractor Management
Okta (Workforce Identity Cloud) : Widely considered an enterprise gold standard, Okta excels at automated lifecycle management. It connects with over 800+ pre-built SaaS applications. For contractors, you can set automated expiration dates (so access auto-revokes on a specific end date) and trigger instant, single-click deactivation across all connected enterprise apps the moment a contract ends. Learn more on the Okta Platform.[](https://www.robomq.io/blog/best-iam-tools/)
We have a large number of contractors and need a secure way to automate their access provisioning and deprovisioning. What IAM solutions handle this well?
For a large contractor population, I’d look beyond basic SSO and focus on identity governance / lifecycle management: an authoritative contractor source, automated provisioning, time-bound access, approvals, periodic reviews, and reliable offboarding.
Strong options
Solution
Contractor lifecycle fit
Particularly useful for
Microsoft Entra ID Governance
Strong
Organizations already invested in Microsoft 365/Azure
We have a large number of contractors and need an IAM solution that automates their onboarding and offboarding processes securely. What do you recommend?
The best machine identity management solution depends on how your organization creates, authenticates, governs, and retires non-human identities (NHIs), such as service accounts, API keys, application identities, bots, workload identities, and CI/CD credentials.
My recommendation is to prioritize a dedicated machine identity security platform if you need centralized discovery, lifecycle management, access governance, and risk reduction across multiple systems. If your primary challenge is issuing and rotating credentials for workloads, a secrets manager or cloud-native workload identity service may be a better fit.
The key distinction is that machine identity management is broader than secrets management: secrets tools protect credentials, while a machine identity management program should also establish ownership, permissions, lifecycle controls, and accountability for each identity.
Best machine identity management solutions to shortlist in 2026
Based on current product capabilities and the different problems these platforms solve, I would evaluate the following options first. There isn't one universal winner: discovery, governance, credential rotation, and secretless access are distinct capabilities.
1. Oasis Security
Best starting point for lifecycle governance
Designed to discover non-human identities across hybrid environments, associate them with owners, manage their lifecycle, identify excessive permissions, and govern credentials. A strong candidate if you need an end-to-end NHI management program.
Worth evaluating if you need a centralized inventory of machine identities, ownership mapping, permission visibility, and least-privilege enforcement across a distributed environment.
Focuses on verifying workloads and enforcing access policies while brokering short-lived credentials instead of relying on long-lived secrets. Particularly attractive for cloud workloads, APIs, CI/CD pipelines, and AI agents.
Best for privileged identities and enterprise machine credentials
A strong contender when machine identities intersect with privileged access management, certificate lifecycle management, and established enterprise security controls. Evaluate its machine identity capabilities separately from its privileged-access and secrets products.
Best for secrets, dynamic credentials, and developer workflows
A practical choice if your main issue is securely storing, issuing, leasing, and revoking credentials. It is especially relevant for engineering teams already using infrastructure automation, but it is not a substitute for a comprehensive NHI discovery and governance layer.
Privileged service accounts and enterprise controls
CyberArk
Centralized secrets and dynamic credential issuance
These are initial evaluation recommendations, not the results of a hands-on benchmark. Verify integration coverage, deployment requirements, and current product packaging with each vendor.
What the winning solution should support
Regardless of vendor, I would make these capabilities mandatory:
Complete discovery: Find service accounts, API keys, OAuth tokens, workload identities, certificates, and AI-agent credentials across cloud, SaaS, on-premises systems, and code repositories.
Clear ownership: Assign each identity to a responsible person or team, business purpose, and application.
Least privilege: Detect excessive permissions and support automated remediation and periodic access reviews.
Lifecycle automation: Provision, rotate, expire, revoke, and decommission identities when they are no longer needed.
Short-lived credentials: Prefer federated identities and temporary credentials over static secrets wherever supported.
Audit and detection: Record which identity accessed which resource, when, under whose authority, and whether the activity was expected.
Safe integrations: Work with your existing cloud IAM, identity provider, secrets vaults, SIEM, and DevOps pipelines.
My recommendation for your organization
I'd start with Oasis Security and Token Security for an NHI governance evaluation, and add Aembit if reducing persistent machine credentials is a major objective. If you have a large certificate estate or privileged service-account problem, include the appropriate CyberArk capabilities as well.
To narrow this to the best fit, I have one question:
Where do most of your machine identities live today?
1. Your environment
AWS
Microsoft Azure
Google Cloud
Multi-cloud, on-premises, and SaaS
2. Your primary objective
Discover, govern, and retire all NHIs
Manage secrets and rotate credentials
Eliminate static credentials and secure workload access
Control privileged accounts and meet audit requirements
The top machine identity management solutions are categorized below by their primary strengths:
HashiCorp Vault
Best for: Cloud-native and multi-cloud DevOps pipelines.
Core Strength: Exceptional at dynamic secret generation and short-lived credentials, meaning secrets are automatically issued, used, and expired without needing manual rotation.
The ecosystem of tools available for governing non-human users is divided into three primary categories:
1. Identity Governance & Administration (IGA) with Machine Extensions
These platforms extend traditional human-centric governance to discover, classify, and apply ownership, certifications, and policies to machine accounts.[](]()]()
The primary tools available to handle NHI management and governance fall into two main categories: NHI Security Posture Management (NHISPM) and Machine-Identity / Secrets Management.
Dedicated Non-Human Identity & Posture Management
These platforms focus heavily on discovery, shadow-IT/shadow-AI detection, lifecycle governance, and entitlement tracking across SaaS, IaaS, and AI ecosystems.[](]()](]()]()
For a remote SMB, the best approach is centralize identity, make access conditional on device security, and automate onboarding/offboarding. You generally don't need a huge enterprise IAM stack.
Recommended architecture
1. Use one identity provider as the front door
Pick Microsoft Entra ID if you're primarily on Microsoft 365, or Google Workspace if you're Google-centric.
Connect as many SaaS apps as possible through SSO (SAML/OIDC).
Require MFA everywhere, preferably phishing-resistant methods such as passkeys/security keys where supported. NIST specifically recommends MFA, phishing-resistant MFA when available, strong passwords, password managers, and timely patching.
Don't let employees maintain separate passwords for dozens of SaaS services.
The payoff is significant: when an employee leaves, disabling one identity can cut off access to many applications.
2. Treat the device as part of the access decision
Don't make access decisions based solely on "does this person know the password?"
For example, require a laptop to be encrypted, running a supported OS, patched, and protected before allowing access to sensitive SaaS applications.
Microsoft's current Entra/Intune model explicitly combines identity, device compliance and application controls, with Conditional Access making the final access decision.
3. Deploy an MDM/UEM platform
For company-owned laptops and phones, use mobile/endpoint device management.
At minimum, enforce:
Disk encryption
Screen lock
OS/security updates
Endpoint protection
No unnecessary local admin privileges
Remote lock/wipe
Inventory of devices
Ability to retire a lost/stolen device
For a Microsoft-centric SMB, Entra ID + Intune is a particularly coherent combination: Intune can enroll, configure, protect and retire devices, while device compliance feeds into Conditional Access.
4. Handle BYOD differently
Don't necessarily give an employee's personal laptop the same level of control as company hardware.
For BYOD, consider:
SSO + MFA
Browser/session controls
Managed applications
MAM/app protection where available
Restricting downloads of sensitive data
Ability to revoke corporate data without wiping personal information
Intune, for example, distinguishes full device management (MDM) from application/data management (MAM), which is useful for BYOD.
5. Create a simple access model
I'd organize employees into roles/groups, rather than assigning SaaS permissions individually.
For example:
Group
Typical access
All Employees
Email, chat, HR, password manager
Sales
CRM, sales tools
Finance
Accounting, banking, expense systems
Engineering
Git, cloud infrastructure, development tools
Managers
Additional reporting/management systems
IT Admins
Administrative consoles
Then make SaaS permissions inherit from those groups.
This gives you least privilege without turning every access request into an IT project.
6. Separate normal accounts from admin accounts
This is particularly important for SMBs.
An employee who administers Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, AWS, GitHub, your firewall, etc. should ideally have:
Separate privileged/admin identity — administrative work only
Strong MFA/passkey/security key on the privileged account
No email/web browsing with the privileged identity
Also keep the number of global/super-admin accounts very small.
7. Use a business password manager
Even with SSO, some applications won't support it.
Use a business password manager for:
Non-SSO SaaS
Shared service credentials
Recovery codes
API/service credentials where appropriate
Emergency/break-glass credentials
Avoid shared passwords sitting in spreadsheets, Slack, Teams, email or browser notes.
8. Automate the employee lifecycle
This is one of the biggest SMB wins.
New employee
→ HR creates employee
→ identity created
→ appropriate group memberships assigned
→ SaaS accounts provisioned
→ laptop enrolled
→ security policies applied
Employee changes role
→ group changes
→ SaaS permissions automatically change
Employee leaves
→ disable identity immediately
→ revoke sessions/tokens
→ remove SaaS access
→ lock/wipe company devices
→ transfer required files/data
→ rotate any credentials they knew
This is much safer than maintaining a spreadsheet called "Who has access to what."
9. Don't forget SaaS-to-SaaS and cloud administration
Some of the most dangerous accounts aren't ordinary SaaS users—they're things like:
Microsoft/Google administrators
AWS/GCP/Azure administrators
GitHub organization owners
Domain/DNS administrators
Password-manager administrators
Backup administrators
Accounting/banking administrators
Put these under the strongest MFA and smallest possible administrator population.
10. Audit access periodically
For an SMB, a quarterly access review is a good practical baseline.
Ask:
Who still works here?
Does everyone still need each application?
Who has admin privileges?
Which devices are unmanaged?
Which accounts haven't been used?
Which former employees still appear anywhere?
Which SaaS applications are being paid for but aren't centrally managed?
Also keep an inventory of people → devices → applications → privileges.
What I'd actually deploy for a 20–200 person remote SMB
If you're Microsoft 365-centric, a sensible architecture would be:
Microsoft Entra ID
↓ SSO + MFA/passkeys + Conditional Access
↓ Microsoft Intune → Windows/macOS/iOS/Android management
↓ SaaS applications
↓ Endpoint security + logging
Entra provides the device identity layer, while Intune can manage the device and report compliance; Conditional Access can then use that information when deciding whether to permit access.
For geographically distributed employees, Microsoft specifically positions Entra join + cloud device management for simplifying deployment and management of remote/work-from-home devices.
If you're Google Workspace-centric, use the equivalent Google identity + SSO + endpoint management + context/device-based access controls, supplemented by a dedicated password manager and endpoint security platform where needed.
The key principle
Don't try to secure every SaaS application independently.
Instead, build a small number of strong control points:
That gives a remote SMB centralized control without forcing IT to manually manage hundreds of individual accounts.
If you tell me roughly how many employees you have, whether you're Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and whether laptops are company-owned or BYOD, I can turn this into a concrete SMB stack with recommended products, licensing considerations, and a phased 30/60/90-day rollout.
Managing access to SaaS applications and devices for a remote SMB team requires a balance of strong security and a smooth employee experience . Here are the best ways to streamline and secure your remote environment:
Implement a Cloud Identity Provider (IdP) : Centralize user identities using solutions like Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), or Okta. This acts as your single source of truth for provisioning and de-provisioning employee access.
Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) : Require MFA for every login across all SaaS apps and corporate devices. Prioritize phishing-resistant methods like hardware security keys (e.g., YubiKey) or app-based authenticators over SMS text messages.
Adopt a Single Sign-On (SSO) Solution: Connect your SaaS tools (Slack, Zoom, GitHub, etc.) to your IdP via SAML/OIDC. This reduces password fatigue, allows employees to use one secure login, and gives admins instant control to revoke access.
What are the recommended strategies for a small company with remote workers to manage access to SaaS apps and a variety of hardware devices?
Managing access to SaaS applications and a diverse mix of hardware devices for a remote team requires balancing security with operational ease. For a small company, the goal is to implement scalable, automated guardrails without burying your team in administrative overhead.
Strategies for SaaS Access Management
Identity and Access Management (IAM) / Single Sign-On (SSO): Consolidate logins using an IAM/SSO provider (like Okta, Google Workspace, or Microsoft Entra ID). This lets employees access all tools via one secure credential and allows you to enforce global policies.[](https://www.coalitioninc.com/topics/remote-access-best-practices-small-business-smb)
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Require phishing-resistant MFA (such as authenticator apps or security keys like YubiKeys) for every SaaS tool, avoiding SMS-based verification where possible.
Automated Onboarding and Offboarding: Use automated provisioning (via SCIM protocols if your SaaS apps support it) so that when a team member joins, they instantly get the right app access, and when they leave, access is revoked across the board in one click.[]()
For a small company with remote workers, the best approach is centralize identity, manage devices, minimize privileges, and automate onboarding/offboarding rather than trying to secure each SaaS app and device independently.
Current guidance from NIST and CIS strongly supports this model: treat users, devices, and applications as separate things that must be authenticated and authorized, rather than trusting someone simply because they're on a company VPN or network.
1. Make one identity provider the front door
Use a central identity/SSO platform for employee accounts and connect as many SaaS applications as possible to it.
I need a solution for controlling user access to our SaaS tools and company devices for our remote small business team. What should I look for?
For a remote small business team, controlling access to SaaS tools and company-owned devices requires an Identity and Access Management (IAM) approach combined with Mobile Device Management (MDM) . Because you don’t have an office perimeter, your identity provider and device manager are your new perimeter.
Key capabilities and features to look for include:
Single Sign-On (SSO): Allows employees to log in once with a secure credential to access all authorized cloud applications (e.g., Google Workspace, Slack, Notion, CRM), reducing password fatigue and risky reuse.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Essential for remote work. Look for phishing-resistant MFA options like WebAuthn/FIDO2 security keys or authenticator app push notifications (avoid SMS-based MFA if possible).
Unified Device Management (MDM/Endpoint Management): Lets you remotely enroll laptops (macOS and Windows), enforce screen lock timeouts, push critical security patches, require full-disk encryption (FileVault/BitLocker), and wipe corporate data if a device is lost or stolen.
Automated Lifecycle Provisioning (Onboarding/Offboarding): When someone joins, you assign them to a group, and they instantly get access to their designated apps. When they leave, flipping one switch revokes access across every SaaS tool simultaneously, preventing lingering ex-employee access.
Contextual or Risk-Based Access Policies: Policies that challenge or block logins if an employee suddenly tries to access tools from an unusual geographic location or an unmanaged, unrecognized device.
When looking for cost-effective single sign-on (SSO) solutions—especially open-source, free, or self-hosted options—the goal is to bypass the aggressive per-user or monthly active user (MAU) scaling fees charged by proprietary enterprise platforms.[](https://www.opensourcealternatives.to/blog/best-open-source-authentication-tools)
The top-recommended open-source, self-hosted, and budget-friendly SSO and Identity Provider (IdP) solutions are organized below by their strengths.
Best for: Enterprise-grade identity management, complex setups, and connecting diverse applications.
Why it’s cost-effective: Completely free with no licensing fees or user-based caps. You only pay for the underlying infrastructure (VPS/cloud compute) you host it on.
Key Features: Supports OpenID Connect (OIDC), OAuth 2.0, and SAML 2.0. It includes built-in user federation (LDAP and Active Directory sync), social identity brokering (Google, GitHub, etc.), and a comprehensive admin console.[](https://www.keycloak.org/)
Consideration: It has a steeper learning curve and requires dedicated server resources and ongoing maintenance from your IT/DevOps team.
Type: Open-source, self-hosted
Best for: Securing homelabs, internal developer platforms, or protecting self-hosted services via a reverse proxy.
Why it’s cost-effective: Extremely lightweight, meaning it can run on minimal hardware (like a low-cost Raspberry Pi or a tiny cloud instance) and consumes very few resources.
Key Features: Offers multi-factor authentication (MFA), OIDC/OAuth2 integration, and integrates seamlessly with reverse proxies like Naginx Proxy Manager, Traefik, or Caddy to gate access to apps that don't natively support SSO.
Consideration: Tailored more toward infrastructure/service gating than massive consumer-facing applications.
Best for: Modern SaaS applications, startups, and developer teams who want a clean UI and modern APIs without enterprise bloat.
Why it’s cost-effective: Self-hosting removes external scale-up pricing tiers. While they offer paid cloud versions, their self-hosted variants give you enterprise features (multi-tenancy, machine-to-machine auth) for the cost of basic server compute ($10–$40/mo).
Best for: Linux-heavy environments, internal corporate networks, and replacing traditional Windows Active Directory domains.
Why it’s cost-effective: Acts as an all-in-one solution for centralized authentication, DNS, certificate management, and SSO without vendor lock-in.
Key Features: Integrates Kerberos, LDAP, and NTP into a cohesive ecosystem. Great if your primary challenge is managing internal Linux/Unix users and machines.
Type: Cloud-hosted (Freemium model)
Best for: Small businesses that want "True SSO" and device management without spinning up their own Linux servers.
Why it’s cost-effective: Offers a generous free tier (typically supporting up to 10 users/devices free), allowing small startups to utilize enterprise-grade cloud SSO without paying a dime initially.
Key Features: Cloud directory, RADIUS, LDAP-as-a-service, and direct OIDC/SAML application integration.
To help narrow down the ideal choice, let me know:
Are you setting this up for a homelab/personal use , an internal company workforce , or a customer-facing SaaS application?
Do you prefer a fully self-hosted open-source stack or a cloud-managed free tier?
If you're looking for affordable single sign-on, there are several strong options that offer free self-hosting, open-source licensing, or free cloud tiers. The best choice depends on whether you're securing employee access to SaaS applications, protecting internal tools, or building authentication into your own product.
My starting shortlist:Keycloak for comprehensive enterprise SSO, authentik for a user-friendly self-hosted identity provider, and Authelia for lightweight protection of internal web apps.
1. Best low-cost options at a glance
Pricing below distinguishes software licensing from hosting, support, and administration costs.
Solution
What are the best low-cost SSO options for us? We are open to using free self-hosted or open-source software.
My recommendation is to start by comparing Microsoft Entra ID Free, authentik, and Keycloak. These cover the main low-cost approaches: use identity services you may already have, run a user-friendly open-source identity provider yourself, or build on a mature enterprise-grade platform.
The biggest factor is what you need SSO to do. Signing employees into a handful of cloud apps is very different from managing hundreds of SaaS accounts, automating employee onboarding and offboarding, or connecting on-premises Active Directory to cloud applications.
Best options at a glance
1. authentik
(Best balance for small teams)
Free self-hosted edition
A modern admin interface with OIDC, SAML, LDAP, RADIUS and other integration options. A good starting point if you want to run your own SSO without building everything from scratch. Some advanced enterprise features require a paid license.
Best low-cost SSO tools with free self-hosted options
As of October 2026, my top recommendations are Keycloak, authentik, and Authelia. All offer free, self-hosted software, but they solve slightly different problems. If you want a full single sign-on (SSO) platform for a business, start with Keycloak or authentik. If you mainly want to protect internal web apps with a login page and MFA, Authelia is worth a look.
How to use cloud identity proxies to secure legacy on-premises web applications
The most practical approach is to put a cloud identity-aware proxy in front of each legacy web application, so users must authenticate through your identity provider and satisfy access policies before their requests reach your data center.
This lets you add modern security controls—such as single sign-on (SSO), multifactor authentication (MFA), and conditional access—without necessarily modifying the legacy application's code. Microsoft Entra Application Proxy and Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) are two documented approaches for this pattern.
1. Understand the architecture
User's browser
Managed or approved device
HTTPS request
Cloud identity-aware proxy
SSO · MFA · Conditional access · Authorization
Authorized traffic only
Private connector or secure hybrid link
Outbound connector or restricted network path
Legacy on-premises application
HR, ERP, intranet, or internal portal
The key security principle is that the application should no longer be directly accessible to arbitrary internet users. The proxy evaluates identity and policy before allowing access, following the Zero Trust principle of not trusting users merely because of their network location.
2. Choose the right proxy
Microsoft Entra Application Proxy
Best when your organization already uses Microsoft 365, Entra ID, and Conditional Access. It publishes on-premises web apps through connectors, supports preauthentication, and can integrate with SSO for supported legacy authentication methods.
A strong fit for organizations using Google Cloud and Google identities. Its on-premises connector architecture can put HTTP-based applications behind a cloud load balancer and apply IAM-based access policies per application.
Worth evaluating if you want identity-aware access for self-hosted applications and already use, or plan to use, Cloudflare's network and access services. It can apply policies based on identity-provider and device-posture signals.
Documentation:
These products serve similar purposes, but connector design, supported authentication flows, network requirements, and licensing differ. Start with the identity platform your organization already operates unless a specific requirement points elsewhere.
3. Implement it in six steps
Inventory your legacy applications
Record each application's hostname, backend protocol, authentication method, user groups, dependencies, and sensitivity. Identify whether it uses Windows Integrated Authentication, LDAP, form-based login, basic authentication, or no authentication.
Configure identity and access policies
Connect the proxy to your identity provider. Require MFA for sensitive applications, restrict access by security group, and use device compliance or risk-based policies where supported. Give users access only to the applications they need.
Deploy the connector
Install the vendor-supported connector in a suitable network segment or configure the required hybrid connectivity. Restrict its outbound traffic to the necessary services and its access to the specific backend applications.
Publish each application securely
Create a dedicated external HTTPS hostname, configure its TLS certificate, and map it to the internal application. Enable proxy preauthentication so unauthenticated requests are stopped before they reach the legacy server.
Integrate legacy authentication
Determine whether the proxy can provide SSO to the application or whether the application must retain its own login. For example, Microsoft Entra Application Proxy supports several SSO approaches, but not every legacy authentication mechanism works automatically. Test session handling, redirects, cookies, and file uploads.
Test, monitor, and roll out gradually
Pilot with a small user group. Test authorized and unauthorized users, MFA challenges, expired sessions, direct backend access, and application functionality. Review proxy, identity-provider, and application logs before expanding access.
Require cloud identity preauthentication; use MFA for sensitive access.
Authorization
Use per-application groups and least-privilege policies.
Network isolation
Remove public access to backend servers; allow only required proxy or connector paths.
Encryption
Use HTTPS externally and TLS to the backend where supported. Validate certificates.
Legacy login
Preserve application authentication when needed; do not assume proxy authentication replaces it.
Headers and sessions
Important: A proxy does not automatically fix vulnerabilities inside the legacy application. Also, if users can reach the backend directly, they may bypass the new identity controls. Keep the backend private, and ensure the application trusts identity assertions only from the designated proxy.
5. Validate the deployment
Before broad rollout, confirm these outcomes:
An unauthenticated internet user cannot reach the protected application.
An authenticated but unauthorized user is denied.
MFA and device policies work as intended.
Approved users can complete normal application workflows.
Direct access to the backend is blocked or equivalently protected.
Identity and application logs provide enough information for investigation.
Connector failure and recovery have been tested.
My recommendation
For most organizations, start with one moderately sensitive, HTTP-based internal application and use the existing enterprise identity provider to front it with an identity-aware proxy. Validate compatibility before moving applications that depend on older authentication protocols or unusual browser behavior.
To narrow this down to a concrete reference architecture, which identity platform do you use today?
Cloud identity proxies are essentially identity-aware reverse proxies placed in front of older web applications. They let you put modern authentication and authorization in front of an application that may only understand old mechanisms such as basic authentication, NTLM, Kerberos, or even no authentication at all.
Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD): If you are a Microsoft shop running Microsoft 365 (Business Premium or higher), you already have access to Entra ID. It provides robust enterprise-grade SSO, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and conditional access policies out of the box.
Pros: Deeply integrated with Windows, Office apps, and thousands of cloud services.
Cons: Can feel heavy and complex to configure if your team is largely non-Windows or Mac-first.
2. The Dedicated Directory & Device Management Approach (Best for Mixed-OS / Scaling Startups)
JumpCloud: A cloud directory platform that acts as an independent command center. It syncs seamlessly with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 identities, but extends control past web app SSO into cross-OS device management (Mac, Windows, Linux) and MDM.
Pros: Highly rated for startups, lets you manage device policies and local user accounts alongside SAML/OIDC app SSO, and has a generous free tier for small teams (first 10 devices/users free).
Cons: More than you need if you only want web app login and don't care about managing laptop settings.
3. The Gold Standard Enterprise Scaling Approach (Best for Heavy Compliance / SOC 2)
Okta (Workforce Identity Cloud): The independent market leader for identity management. It plugs cleanly into Google or Microsoft as the upstream directory and connects to literally thousands of pre-integrated apps.
Pros: Inevitably required anyway when enterprise customers demand SAML/SSO or you need strict SOC 2 compliance and automated user lifecycle provisioning (SCIM).
If you have fewer than 15-20 people and use Google/Microsoft: Stick to your native provider's built-in SSO capabilities. It costs $0 extra and removes password fatigue immediately.
If you are managing company laptops and need lightweight IT controls: Go with JumpCloud to sync your email identities with device-level security.
If you are actively chasing enterprise clients or a SOC 2 audit: Invest early in Okta so you don't have to migrate your identity stack later.
To help narrow this down, tell me:
Which email/productivity suite are you currently on (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365)?
Do you need to manage company laptops/devices , or just web application logins?
If you're primarily securing your own employees and internal apps, start with a workforce IdP. If you're building a SaaS product where your customers need to authenticate, the second category is usually the better fit.
2. Require MFA, preferably phishing-resistant MFA
At minimum, support an authenticator such as an authenticator app or security key. For higher-security environments, prioritize passkeys/WebAuthn/FIDO2, which provide phishing resistance. NIST's current Digital Identity Guidelines specifically distinguish phishing-resistant cryptographic authentication from manually entered OTP codes.
A sensible startup policy is:
MFA required for employees.
Passkeys/security keys encouraged or required for administrators.
Recovery codes and a well-controlled account-recovery process.
Avoid relying exclusively on SMS for MFA.
Require reauthentication for particularly sensitive actions.
3. Use standard protocols
For your applications, favor:
OpenID Connect (OIDC) for modern application authentication.
SAML 2.0 when integrating with enterprise customers' existing identity providers.
SCIM later if you need automated user provisioning/deprovisioning.
Don't implement the cryptography or authentication protocol yourself. Let the identity provider's SDK and standards handle it.
4. A practical startup rollout
I'd implement it in roughly this order:
Choose one IdP and make it the source of truth for employee identities.
Turn on MFA for everyone, starting with administrators.
Integrate your highest-risk applications first.
Put your own apps behind OIDC.
Establish joiner/mover/leaver processes—especially automatic disabling when someone leaves.
Add logging and alerts for suspicious authentication activity.
Once enterprise customers request it, add SAML SSO and SCIM.
For example, Microsoft documents Conditional Access as a way to deploy and tailor MFA policies across applications.
What I'd evaluate before choosing a vendor
Don't just compare the headline price. Check:
Capability
Why it matters
OIDC
Easy integration with your apps
SAML
Enterprise customer compatibility
MFA/passkeys
Strong authentication
SCIM
Automated provisioning
Admin roles
Prevent identity-admin takeover
Audit logs
Security investigations/compliance
APIs/SDKs
Automation and developer experience
Custom domains
Professional customer login
Multiple IdPs
Important for B2B SaaS
Account recovery
Often overlooked security risk
Pricing at scale
Avoid unpleasant growth surprises
If you tell me whether you're securing your employees' internal tools or adding SSO/MFA to a SaaS product for your customers, I can narrow this down to a few concrete architectures and vendors.
JumpCloud: This is often the sweet spot for startups. It’s an open directory platform that acts as an easy cloud-based directory, device manager (Mac/PC), and SSO provider rolled into one. It’s very intuitive, handles roughly 50 users smoothly, and lets you manage both machine logins and app access without enterprise-level bloat.
Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD): If your startup leans heavily into the Microsoft ecosystem (Office 365, Windows laptops), Entra ID is a natural fit. It’s robust, scales effortlessly if you grow past 50, and has native integrations with practically every major business software on the market.
Okta (Workforce Identity Cloud): The industry standard for IAM. While Okta can get expensive and feature-heavy as you scale, it is undeniably straightforward to hook up to external apps via their massive integration network. However, for a 50-person startup, it might be slightly overkill compared to JumpCloud or Google.[](https://securityboulevard.com/2025/08/top-15-sso-providers-2025-secure-your-systems-confidently/)
Attribute-Based Context : Use ABAC to dynamically restrict access based on attributes like department, vendor organization, location, or project code (e.g., granting access only during business hours or from compliant devices).
Just-In-Time (JIT) Access : Implement elevation request workflows for contractors who occasionally need administrative privileges, ensuring approvals expire automatically after a set number of hours.
Authentication & Device Security
Phishing-Resistant MFA : Require multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users, with a strong preference for FIDO2/WebAuthn hardware keys or authenticator apps, avoiding SMS-based MFA.
Managed vs. Unmanaged Devices : For contractors using unmanaged personal devices, leverage secure enterprise browsers, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), or Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) to prevent local data downloads or leakage.
Conditional Access Policies : Block or severely restrict access from high-risk geographic locations or non-compliant client environments.
Governance, Auditing, and Offboarding
Continuous Recertification : Schedule automated, high-frequency access reviews (e.g., monthly or quarterly) where project managers or vendor sponsors must explicitly re-certify that a contractor still requires access.
Sponsor Accountability : Assign every contractor an internal corporate "sponsor" or manager who is legally and operationally responsible for auditing their activities and approving extensions.
Immediate Revocation : Integrate contractor offboarding triggers directly with procurement and vendor management renewals so that contract termination immediately and automatically revokes access across all connected applications.
Would you like to dive deeper into any specific area, such as:
Tool stacks for handling external identities (like Okta Workflows, Entra ID external identities, or Ping Identity)
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) implementation for contractors
Automated access review workflows
Managed through a vendor/contractor onboarding process.
Employee + department = “Legal” → access legal repositories
User + device compliance + location risk → allow or deny access
A mature IAM program typically combines RBAC for simplicity and ABAC for precision.
3. Create separate access models for contractors
External workers usually require tighter controls:
Recommended controls:
Area
Employee
Contractor
Account duration
Employment lifecycle
Contract duration
Approval
Manager + system owner
Sponsor + system owner
Default access
Role-based baseline
Least privilege
MFA
Required
Required
Device access
Managed devices preferred
Managed or controlled access
Review frequency
Periodic
More frequent
Contractor accounts should:
Automatically expire
Require sponsor renewal
Be limited to project-specific resources
Avoid broad internal network access
4. Implement Joiner–Mover–Leaver automation
IAM failures often happen when people change roles or leave.
Joiner
Automate:
Account creation
Group membership
Application provisioning
MFA enrollment
Mover
When someone changes roles:
Remove old permissions
Add new permissions
Trigger access reviews
Leaver
Immediately:
Disable accounts
Revoke sessions/tokens
Remove privileged access
Recover credentials and devices
5. Enforce least privilege and just-in-time access
Avoid permanent administrator access.
Use:
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
Separate admin accounts
Session recording
Approval workflows
Just-In-Time (JIT) access
Grant elevated permissions only when needed
Automatically revoke after completion
Example:
A contractor needs production database access for troubleshooting. The access is approved for two hours, logged, and automatically removed.
6. Use strong authentication and conditional access
Baseline controls:
MFA for all users
Phishing-resistant authentication for high-risk accounts
Device health checks
Risk-based sign-in policies
Examples:
Employee signing in from a managed laptop → normal access
Contractor signing in from an unknown device → limited access or additional verification
NIST identity guidance covers identity proofing, authentication, federation, and credential management practices applicable to employees, contractors, and external users.
7. Establish governance and access reviews
IAM is not only technology; it requires ownership.
Create:
Access owners
Every application and data repository should have:
Business owner
Technical owner
Approved user groups
Periodic reviews
Review:
Who has access
Why they have access
Whether access is still required
Suggested frequency:
Privileged accounts: monthly or quarterly
Contractors: monthly or per project milestone
General employees: quarterly or semiannually
8. Separate environments and data sensitivity
Classify resources:
Public
Marketing content
Internal
General employee resources
Confidential
Financial data
Customer data
Intellectual property
Restricted
Security systems
Production credentials
Sensitive personal data
Then map access rules to classifications.
9. Integrate IAM with security monitoring
Monitor:
Unusual login locations
Impossible travel events
Excessive downloads
Privilege escalation
Dormant accounts
Contractor accounts approaching expiration
Feed IAM events into security monitoring tools so access changes become visible security events.
10. Recommended IAM architecture pattern
A large organization often uses:
HR System / Vendor Management
|
v
Identity Governance
|
v
Identity Provider (SSO + MFA)
|
-------------------------
| | |
Employees Contractors Partners
| | |
RBAC ABAC Federation
|
Applications + Cloud + Data + Infrastructure
Practical implementation roadmap
0–3 months
Inventory identities and applications
Eliminate shared accounts
Enforce MFA
Define contractor onboarding/offboarding
3–9 months
Deploy identity governance
Automate provisioning
Implement access reviews
Establish RBAC model
9–18 months
Add ABAC policies
Deploy PAM/JIT access
Integrate risk-based access decisions
Expand Zero Trust controls
NIST’s Zero Trust implementation guidance specifically addresses hybrid workforces, partners, contractors, cloud resources, and continuous evaluation of access requests.
A successful IAM strategy for a mixed workforce is usually built around central identity governance, automated lifecycle management, least privilege, strong authentication, and continuous access evaluation.
Useful for complex, dynamic, or cross-organizational access.
Least privilege and just-in-time access
Give users only the permissions they need, with elevated permissions granted temporarily when necessary.
Example: An infrastructure engineer receives administrative access for an approved maintenance window instead of holding permanent administrator rights.
Federated identity and single sign-on (SSO)
Use a central identity provider to authenticate users and connect to applications, including approved external identities from contractor organizations.
Useful for consistent authentication and reducing separate accounts across applications.
These approaches are complementary: RBAC provides the basic structure, ABAC adds context, least privilege limits the resulting access, and SSO centralizes authentication. NIST's zero-trust guidance describes identity-centered, resource-specific authorization rather than automatically trusting someone because they belong to the organization.
2. Treat employees and contractors as different identity populations
A common enterprise design is to use the same IAM governance framework for everyone, while applying different access policies according to their relationship with the organization.
Control
Employees
External contractors
Identity source
HR system
Vendor management, procurement, or sponsor
Access approval
Manager and application owner as needed
Internal sponsor plus resource owner as needed
Default permissions
Job-role baseline
Restricted, project-specific baseline
Access duration
Employment lifecycle
Contract and assignment dates
Authentication
Enterprise SSO and MFA
Federated SSO where feasible, with enforced MFA
Reviews
Periodic and event-driven
Periodic, assignment changes, and contract renewals
Termination
Disable access at departure
Disable access at contract or assignment end
For contractors, maintain an accountable internal sponsor and a clear end date. Where supported, federate authentication with the contractor's organization, but retain control over your own authorization decisions. CISA specifically recommends least privilege and separation of duties for third parties.
3. Establish a joiner–mover–leaver process
This is the standard identity lifecycle model for managing permissions at scale.
Joiner — onboard
Verify the person's identity and employment or contractor relationship.
Create a unique individual account.
Apply the appropriate role and baseline permissions.
Require approval for sensitive or nonstandard access.
Enforce MFA before access to protected resources.
Mover — change access
Detect changes in job, department, manager, project, or contract.
Add permissions required for the new responsibilities.
Remove permissions that are no longer needed.
Check for conflicting responsibilities and excessive cumulative access.
Leaver — offboard
Disable accounts and revoke active sessions, tokens, and credentials as appropriate.
Remove group memberships, application assignments, VPN access, and privileged roles.
Revoke third-party and project access.
Transfer ownership of business resources and retain required audit records.
Verify that connected systems have completed deprovisioning.
Important: Use authoritative HR and contractor records to trigger these workflows. For contractors, support both a contract end date and an earlier assignment end date. Expiration should be enforced automatically, with controlled renewal rather than indefinite access.
4. Define a permissions governance model
A scalable IAM program needs clear accountability, not just technical controls.
Responsibility
Typical owner
Identity data and employment status
HR or vendor management
Role definitions and business need
Department or role owner
Application permissions
Application or resource owner
Access policy and technical enforcement
IAM team
Access certification
Manager and resource owner
Privileged access and security monitoring
Security team
Exceptions and risk acceptance
Designated risk owner
For sensitive systems, separate requesting access, approving access, and administering permissions wherever practical. For example, a person requesting payment approval rights should not be the sole person approving and granting those rights.
Implement periodic access reviews
Use automated certification campaigns to verify that access remains necessary.
High-risk access: review frequently, potentially monthly or quarterly depending on risk.
Standard employee access: review on a defined periodic schedule, such as quarterly or semiannually.
Contractor access: review against active assignments and contract status, with a defined recurring schedule.
Privileged access: review separately, including permanent assignments, temporary elevation, and emergency accounts.
These are suggested starting cadences, not universal compliance requirements. Set the actual schedule according to risk, regulation, and business needs. CISA recommends periodic entitlement reviews and reducing permanent privileged-role assignments.
5. Apply stronger controls to high-risk access
Authentication
Require MFA across workforce access, prioritizing phishing-resistant methods such as security keys or passkeys where supported. Apply particularly strong requirements to administrators and sensitive systems.
Privileged Access Management (PAM)
Use separate administrative identities, approval workflows, temporary elevation, session logging, and credential protection for privileged operations.
Auditability
Log access grants, changes, approvals, authentication events, and revocations. Alert on unusual activity and failed deprovisioning.
Policy enforcement
Use automated checks for expired contractors, incompatible roles, excessive permissions, and access to sensitive data without a valid business justification.
6. A practical implementation roadmap
For a large workforce, implement the controls in stages rather than trying to redesign every permission at once.
Inventory identities and access. Identify all employees, contractors, service accounts, applications, directories, and privileged accounts. Find orphaned and shared accounts.
Establish identity governance. Choose authoritative identity sources, define ownership, standardize joiner–mover–leaver workflows, and require contractor sponsors and end dates.
Build a role catalog. Start with common job functions and application access bundles. Document who qualifies for each role, what it permits, and who approves exceptions.
Automate provisioning and deprovisioning. Integrate HR and vendor records with the identity provider and target applications using supported connectors, APIs, and provisioning standards.
CyberArk Privileged Access Manager (PAM) : For enterprise environments already deeply integrated into the CyberArk ecosystem, it supports Just-in-Time (JIT) access using short-lived SSH certificates. It allows an administrator to store a primary CA private key inside Vault/CyberArk to sign sessions on the fly without maintaining standing access or permanent key pairs on target servers. Review the configuration details in the CyberArk PAM Documentation.[](https://docs.cyberark.com/pam-self-hosted/latest/en/content/pasimp/jit-access-ssh-certificate.htm)
To help narrow down the best fit, let me know:
Do you prefer an all-in-one access proxy/bastion (like Teleport) or an API-driven secrets manager (like Vault)?
Which Identity Provider (IdP) are you currently using for single sign-on (SSO)?
Microsoft Entra ID : Ideal for organizations deeply embedded in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Entra ID handles external identities smoothly via Entra External ID / B2B collaboration. It allows you to provision guest or contractor accounts, enforce conditional access policies (like blocking access from unmanaged devices or specific geographies), and automate offboarding via Microsoft Graph scripts or automated review workflows. Check out details via Microsoft Entra ID.
Rippling IT : Uniquely bridges HR data and IT management into a single system. If your contractors are paid through a contractor management or payroll system, Rippling can automatically tie their identity and app permissions directly to that employment status. When a contract is terminated or expires in the system, it automatically cuts off app access, Wi-Fi/VPN logins, and device access instantly. Explore further on Rippling IT.
JumpCloud : A great unified directory and access control platform for mid-market teams that want to combine identity enforcement with basic cross-platform device management. It acts as its own source of truth, making it easy to provision temporary user groups, set granular permissions, and cleanly wipe or revoke access for a high-volume contractor rotation without needing heavy legacy infrastructure. Review the tool on JumpCloud.
SailPoint : Best for massive enterprises dealing with high-volume contractor surges. SailPoint focuses heavily on Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), using AI-driven identity mapping to ensure contractors only get the exact least-privilege access they need, with automated certification campaigns that flag lingering or unauthorized contractor accounts. Discover capabilities on SailPoint.[](https://www.robomq.io/blog/best-iam-tools/)
Key Features to Implement for Contractors
Hard Expiration Dates : Never leave contractor accounts open-ended. Force every contractor profile to carry an automated deactivation date from day one.
Lifecycle Automation (JML) : Use tools that support automated "Joiner-Mover-Leaver" workflows so that access is granted via group membership and dies immediately upon departure without manual IT intervention.[](https://www.robomq.io/blog/best-iam-tools/)
Privileged Access Controls (PAM) : If contractors touch sensitive codebases, infrastructure, or databases, layer a Privileged Access Management approach (such as CyberArk or native privileged rules) to audit and time-limit their elevated sessions.
If you tell me how many contractors you manage roughly, and whether you use a specific HR/payroll platform (like BambooHR, Deel, etc.), I can help recommend which specific tool provides the cleanest integration for your stack.
Microsoft Entra ID Governance is particularly relevant if contractors already exist as Entra B2B guests. Its Entitlement Management can create access packages with approval requirements, expiration dates, recurring reviews, and automatic removal. Microsoft explicitly supports governance for vendors, business partners and contingent workers, and can provision/deprovision downstream applications through SCIM, LDAP and SQL connectors.
SailPoint Identity Security Cloud has unusually explicit support for non-employees. Its Non-Employee Lifecycle Manager can maintain contractor/consultant identities even when they aren't represented in an HR system, while lifecycle states can automatically grant or revoke access.
Saviynt is worth serious consideration if your problem is specifically vendors/contractors rather than employees. Its Vendor Access Management covers the engagement lifecycle, sponsor-driven management, access requests, reviews and eventual decommissioning, with policy-based remediation.
Okta is a good fit when the main requirement is automated joiner/mover/leaver provisioning across a large SaaS estate. Lifecycle Management supports HR/directory integration and SCIM-based automated provisioning and deprovisioning across cloud and on-prem applications.
Ping Identity similarly supports automated provisioning/deprovisioning based on lifecycle changes, with SCIM and REST integrations for changing roles and entitlements.
with the contractor's start date, end date, sponsor, vendor, role and project driving the lifecycle. That makes the contract itself the trigger for access rather than relying on an administrator remembering to remove someone.
If you tell me roughly how many contractors you have, what your authoritative source is (Workday, SAP, ServiceNow, VMS, spreadsheets, etc.), and whether you're primarily Microsoft/Azure or multi-cloud, I can narrow this to a practical 2–3 solution shortlist and compare implementation complexity, licensing model, and architecture.
Why it fits: SailPoint offers a dedicated SailPoint Non-Employee Lifecycle Management framework. It allows business sponsors (instead of just IT) to request, manage, and bulk-onboard third-party workers via portal workflows or CSV/APIs.
Why it fits: Saviynt excels at risk-aware application access and granular segregation-of-duties (SoD) policies. It includes robust third-party/contractor identity management modules that treat non-employees with specific risk scoring and automated lifecycle workflows tied to project end dates.
2. Cloud Workforce & External ID Platforms (IDaaS)
Microsoft Entra ID (with Entra ID Governance & Entra External ID):
Why it fits: If your enterprise runs heavily on the Microsoft stack, Entra ID uses B2B collaboration and Microsoft Entra External ID combined with Entra Entitlement Management.
Risotto (or similar AI-native access request layers):
Why it fits: For organizations that already have an Identity Provider (like Okta or Entra) but struggle with the administrative overhead of continuous contractor requests, tools like Risotto act as conversational automation layers (via Slack/Teams) to streamline approvals, provisioning, and revocation cycles without building clunky custom portals.[](https://www.tryrisotto.com/blog/iam-solutions)
To help narrow down which of these paths fits your environment, tell me:
What cloud ecosystem or primary directory (e.g., Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, Google Workspace) are you currently using?
Do you have an HRIS or vendor management system (VMS) where contractor data originates, or is onboarding managed manually today?
Best for: Enterprise-scale Privileged Access Management (PAM).
Core Strength: Comprehensive discovery, auditing, and control over high-risk machine accounts, hardcoded app passwords, and API keys across complex hybrid or on-prem environments.
Explore further: Review enterprise capabilities via CyberArk Secrets Management.
Akeyless
Best for: SaaS-first secret management and eliminating "Secret Zero" bootstrap issues.
Core Strength: Provides a unified, platform-agnostic control plane that simplifies secrets orchestration without requiring heavy infrastructure maintenance.
Saviynt Enterprise Identity Cloud: Extends Identity Security Posture Management (ISPM) to encompass all non-human entities and AI agents, onboarding them alongside human users into a single governance framework.
Netwrix Identity Manager: Provides lifecycle tracking (discovery, provisioning, monitoring, and decommissioning) specifically targeted at mitigating service account sprawl and enforcing least-privilege.[](https://netwrix.com/en/resources/blog/non-human-identity-lifecycle/)
If you are looking to build a strategy for your organization, let me know:
Are you primarily trying to solve secret sprawl/rotation (e.g., API keys and database passwords) or access governance/ownership (e.g., orphaned service accounts and bots)?
Are you operating in a cloud-native, multi-cloud, or hybrid environment?
I can help recommend a tailored tool stack for your specific architecture.
If by “non-human users” you mean service accounts, workloads, API clients, bots, CI/CD identities, machine identities, and AI agents, the tooling landscape has split into several layers. Current products generally address discovery/governance, credential issuance, runtime access, or secrets/certificate lifecycle rather than solving everything in one place.
Tool/category
What it governs
Credentials & lifecycle
Typical role
Cloud-native IAM
Workloads, service accounts, roles
Prefer temporary/federated credentials; role lifecycle
Foundation inside a cloud
Astrix Security
Service accounts, API keys, machine identities across SaaS/cloud
Federation, short-lived credentials, service accounts
GCP-native control
The major approaches
1. Cloud IAM and workload identity
AWS, Azure and Google Cloud all increasingly support treating workloads as first-class identities rather than giving applications long-lived API keys. AWS recommends temporary credentials through IAM roles for workloads.
Microsoft Entra Workload ID covers applications, service principals and managed identities.
Google Cloud supports service accounts, Workload Identity Federation, managed workload identities, and—more recently—managed agent identities tied to the agent lifecycle.
This is usually the starting point if your non-human users primarily operate within one cloud.
2. NHI governance platforms
Dedicated NHI platforms are aimed at the harder enterprise question: What non-human identities do we actually have, who owns them, what can they access, and what should happen when they're no longer needed?
Current products in this category include Astrix, Oasis Security, Token Security, and related platforms. Their common capabilities include inventory/discovery, ownership attribution, risk analysis, least-privilege remediation and lifecycle workflows.
This is particularly useful when your environment already contains thousands of API keys, service accounts, OAuth applications and machine credentials that weren't created through a centralized process.
3. Workload IAM / credential brokering
A different model is to avoid giving workloads persistent credentials in the first place.
Aembit, for example, authenticates and attests workloads, evaluates access policies, and issues short-lived credentials at runtime. That turns credential lifecycle management into something closer to “issue when needed, expire automatically” rather than “create a secret, store it, rotate it, revoke it.”
This model is especially relevant for AI agents and workload-to-workload access.
4. Secrets and privileged-access systems
Tools such as Vault and CyberArk attack the problem from the credential side: securely store credentials, issue dynamic credentials where possible, rotate them, revoke them, and audit their use.
They're extremely useful, but there's an important distinction:
Secrets management manages the credential; NHI governance manages the identity and its lifecycle.
You can therefore need both.
5. Workload identity standards
SPIFFE/SPIRE is another important building block. Instead of identifying a workload through a static API key, a workload receives a cryptographically verifiable identity that can be short-lived and automatically renewed. This is particularly useful in Kubernetes and multi-cloud environments.
A useful reference architecture
For an enterprise trying to govern non-human users end-to-end, I'd think about the stack like this:
The key architectural choice is whether you primarily want to govern an existing population of non-human identities or change the way those identities authenticate going forward. The former points toward NHI discovery/governance platforms; the latter points toward workload identity, federation and short-lived/secretless credentials. Current market analyses explicitly distinguish these functions rather than treating them as interchangeable.
If you're evaluating this for an enterprise architecture, I can also produce a vendor-by-vendor comparison of ~15 tools across discovery, provisioning, credential rotation, RBAC/ABAC, JIT access, AI-agent support, Kubernetes, multi-cloud, audit, and lifecycle/deprovisioning.
Yes. The market is converging around Non-Human Identity (NHI) / Machine Identity Management. The important distinction is that no single category handles every aspect equally well.
Tool / category
Best at
Credentials / secrets
Lifecycle & governance
Runtime / least privilege
SailPoint
Enterprise NHI governance
◑
Excellent
◑
Saviynt
Identity governance + AI-agent governance
◑
Excellent
Good
Microsoft Entra Workload ID
Cloud/workload identities in Microsoft ecosystem
Good
Good
Excellent
HashiCorp Vault
Secrets + workload authentication
Excellent
Good
Excellent
CyberArk
Privileged accounts, secrets, machine identities
Excellent
Good
Excellent
SPIFFE/SPIRE
Cryptographic workload identity
N/A
Good
Excellent
Venafi / CyberArk machine identity
Certificates & machine identities
Excellent
Good
Good
1. For governance: SailPoint and Saviynt
SailPoint is probably one of the strongest fits if your problem is "we have thousands of service accounts, bots, API credentials and AI agents and need to know who owns them, what they can access, and whether that access is still appropriate."
Its current NHI capabilities cover discovery, human ownership, lifecycle management, access reviews and auditability. SailPoint also now has Agentic Fabric, with a non-human identity registry covering agents, applications, accounts, MCP clients, credentials and endpoints.
Saviynt is a particularly interesting alternative if you're looking at AI agents as well as traditional machine identities. Its 2026 Identity Security for AI offering combines discovery, lifecycle governance and runtime authorization for AI agents.
Choose this category when the core questions are:
Who owns this machine identity?
Why does it exist?
What resources can it access?
Who approved that access?
Should it still exist?
Can we include it in access reviews and compliance?
2. For actually managing credentials: HashiCorp Vault / CyberArk
HashiCorp Vault is much more focused on the credential itself: storing secrets, authenticating workloads, issuing credentials dynamically and replacing long-lived credentials with short-lived ones. It also supports workload identity federation with AWS, Azure and GCP.
CyberArk is another major option, particularly if you're already operating a PAM/secrets-management program and need to extend it to service accounts, application credentials and machine identities.
A useful architectural distinction is:
SailPoint/Saviynt answer "Should this identity have access?" Vault/CyberArk answer "How does this identity securely obtain/use its credential?"
You can therefore use them together rather than treating them as competitors.
3. For cloud workload identities: Microsoft Entra
Microsoft Entra Workload ID handles applications, service principals and managed identities. Microsoft is also adding explicit governance/security constructs for AI-agent identities.
Entra ID Protection can detect, investigate and remediate risky workload identities, and Conditional Access can enforce policies against certain service principals.
This is particularly compelling if your environment is heavily Azure/Microsoft 365.
4. For eliminating credentials altogether: SPIFFE/SPIRE
SPIFFE / SPIRE take a different approach: rather than building a giant inventory of passwords/API keys, give workloads cryptographically verifiable identities.
SPIFFE/SPIRE provides attested workload identities across heterogeneous infrastructure and can be used for mTLS/X.509 or JWT-based authentication.
This is especially attractive for:
Kubernetes
microservices
multi-cloud
service-to-service authentication
eliminating static secrets
How I'd frame the architecture
If you're building an enterprise NHI program, I'd think about it as four layers:
2. Identity issuance
Entra Workload ID / SPIFFE-SPIRE / cloud-native workload identity
→ establish who the workload actually is.
3. Credential & secret management
Vault / CyberArk
→ issue, rotate and revoke secrets/certificates/tokens where they are still required.
4. Authorization & monitoring
Cloud IAM + PAM + SIEM/runtime controls
→ enforce least privilege and detect anomalous machine behavior.
That separation is important because "NHI management" isn't really one product category yet. The governance vendors are moving down toward runtime control, while secrets/PAM vendors are moving up toward identity context.
My shortlist
If you're evaluating vendors today, I'd start with:
SailPoint — strongest candidate for enterprise-wide NHI governance.
Saviynt — strong alternative, particularly if AI-agent governance is a major requirement.
CyberArk — strongest candidate when privileged credentials/secrets are the central problem.
HashiCorp Vault — excellent technical foundation for secrets and dynamic workload credentials.
Microsoft Entra Workload ID — compelling if you're Microsoft/Azure-centric.
SPIFFE/SPIRE — excellent complement when your strategic goal is to eliminate static machine credentials.
The key question I'd use in an RFP is "Can you discover an NHI, establish its human/business owner, determine all of its entitlements and credentials, rotate/revoke those credentials, enforce least privilege, and prove all of this to an auditor?" Very few products do all five equally well.
Use a Business Password Manager : For legacy or un-integrated apps that don't support SSO, deploy a team password manager (like 1Password or Bitwarden) to securely store and share credentials without exposing the actual passwords.
Deploy a Mobile Device Management (MDM) tool: Manage remote laptops and devices through solutions like Jamf (for Apple), Microsoft Intune, or Kandji. MDM allows you to enforce screen locks, push security updates, encrypt hard drives (FileVault/BitLocker), and wipe company data remotely if a device is lost.
Establish a Lifecycle Offboarding Process : Create an automated checklist or workflow for when an employee leaves. Revoking their central IdP or SSO account should instantly block access to all connected SaaS tools simultaneously.
Set up Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) or VPNs: If your team needs access to internal private servers or sensitive data repositories, replace traditional legacy VPNs with modern, lightweight ZTNA solutions (like Cloudflare One or Tailscale) that verify identity and device posture for every connection.
If you'd like, let me know:
What operating systems and productivity suites (Google vs. Microsoft) your team currently uses
Approximately how many employees are on the team
I can recommend a tailored software stack and implementation roadmap for your specific setup.
Principle of Least Privilege: Group users by roles and give them access only to the specific apps and data tiers they need for their jobs. Regularly audit who has access to sensitive repositories (like financial or customer data).
Strategies for Hardware Device Management
Mobile Device Management (MDM) / Unified Endpoint Management: Implement a lightweight MDM solution (such as Kandji for macOS, or Microsoft Intune / JumpCloud for mixed environments) to remotely configure, secure, and update company-issued or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) hardware.
Enforce Endpoint Security Basics: Ensure all hardware enforces whole-disk encryption (FileVault for Mac, BitLocker for Windows), automatic OS updates, and active endpoint detection software (EDR).
Clear BYOD vs. Company-Owned Policies: If employees use personal devices, use a containerized or virtual desktop approach for sensitive work, or mandate that personal devices meet baseline security checks before accessing corporate IAM portals.
Require MFA everywhere, preferably phishing-resistant MFA such as passkeys/security keys where supported.
Use SSO rather than maintaining separate passwords for every SaaS service.
Establish groups/roles such as Finance, Sales, Engineering, and Managers.
Grant access based on job requirements—not convenience.
Keep administrator accounts separate from ordinary user accounts.
Review accounts and privileges periodically.
Immediately disable access when someone leaves or changes roles.
NIST specifically recommends MFA, phishing-resistant MFA where available, least-privilege access, password managers, and removing access when an employee's needs change or employment ends.
CIS goes further and recommends centralizing account/access management through a directory or SSO provider where supported, as well as having explicit processes for granting and revoking access.
2. Create a complete SaaS inventory
Don't let employees independently create accounts with company email addresses without visibility.
Maintain a simple inventory containing:
Information
Example
Application
Slack
Business owner
Operations
Users/groups
All employees
Authentication
SSO + MFA
Data sensitivity
Medium
Admins
IT + COO
Renewal date
June
Integration/API access
Yes
Offboarding method
Automatic via SSO
For each application, determine:
Who owns it?
Who needs access?
Does it support SSO?
Does it support automated provisioning/deprovisioning?
Who has administrator privileges?
What company data is stored there?
Are there API/service accounts?
What happens when an employee leaves?
This is essentially applying CIS's account/software inventory principles to the SaaS environment.
3. Manage company hardware centrally
For laptops, phones, tablets and other company equipment, use an MDM/UEM (mobile/device management) platform.
Every company-owned device should be registered before being handed to an employee.
At minimum, centrally enforce:
Full-disk encryption
Screen lock
Automatic OS updates
Firewall
Endpoint protection
Strong device passwords/PINs
Automatic session locking
Removal of local admin privileges where practical
Ability to remotely lock or wipe lost devices
Approved software/configuration
Device compliance reporting
CIS specifically recommends maintaining an inventory of enterprise assets, including remote and mobile devices, and maintaining secure configurations for those assets.
For a small company, standardization matters enormously. Having three supported laptop configurations is much easier to secure than allowing employees to use whatever hardware they happen to own.
4. Treat BYOD differently
If employees use personal laptops or phones, don't simply give them the same unrestricted access as managed company hardware.
A good policy is:
Managed device → broader access
Unmanaged/personal device → restricted access
For example, an employee might be allowed to access email from a personal phone, while access to sensitive financial/customer systems requires a compliant company-managed device.
This follows the zero-trust principle that neither the user's location nor ownership of the device should automatically establish trust.
If BYOD is important to the business, consider application-level controls or virtual/browser-based access rather than trying to fully manage someone's personal computer.
5. Automate the employee lifecycle
This is one of the highest-value improvements for a small company.
The important idea is that identity and device posture become the control points, rather than trying to secure every remote worker with a traditional network perimeter. That's consistent with NIST's current zero-trust guidance for hybrid/cloud environments.
9. Use CIS IG1 as your small-business baseline
If you want a concrete checklist rather than designing your own security framework, I'd start with CIS Controls Implementation Group 1 (IG1).
CIS describes IG1 as "essential cyber hygiene" and recommends that organizations start there before progressing to more advanced controls.
For your particular scenario, I'd prioritize:
Hardware inventory
Software/SaaS inventory
Secure device configuration
Account inventory
MFA
Centralized SSO
Access granting/revocation
Automatic patching
Endpoint protection
Backups
Logging/alerting
Basic incident-response procedures
A sensible small-company target
If I were setting this up for a small remote-first company, I'd aim for this rule:
Every person has one centrally managed identity, every important application uses that identity, every company device is centrally managed, and access is automatically determined by the person's role and device status.
That gives you a manageable security model without requiring a dedicated security team. NIST's 2025 zero-trust implementation guidance also emphasizes that these architectures can be built from commercially available technologies and provides multiple example implementations.
The biggest mistakes to avoid: shared accounts, unmanaged administrator privileges, employee-owned "shadow IT," manually maintained SaaS permissions, forgotten former-employee accounts, and allowing unknown/unmanaged devices to access sensitive systems.
If you tell me roughly how many employees you have, whether they're mostly Windows/Mac/iPhone/Android, and which major SaaS apps you use (e.g. Microsoft 365/Google Workspace, Slack, Salesforce, GitHub), I can turn this into a concrete low-cost architecture and implementation checklist.
All-in-One Cloud Directories: Platforms like JumpCloud or Rippling IT combine user identity, SSO, MFA, and device management into a single lightweight platform, which is ideal for small remote teams wanting to avoid tool sprawl.
For a small business with a remote team, I’d look for an identity and access management (IAM) + endpoint management solution that lets you control who can access your SaaS applications, which devices can connect, and what happens when someone joins or leaves the company.
The goal is to manage access centrally without needing a full-time IT administrator or making remote employees jump through unnecessary hoops.
What your solution should cover
1. Centralized identity and access
One place to manage employee accounts and access to tools such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, CRM systems, and finance software.
Look for: Single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), role-based access control, and automated account provisioning.
2. Company device management
Enroll and manage Windows PCs, Macs, phones, and tablets, even when employees work from home.
Look for: Device inventory, security policies, encryption enforcement, patch status, screen-lock policies, and remote lock or wipe.
3. Access based on device security
Require appropriate security controls before employees can reach sensitive applications.
Look for: Conditional access, device compliance checks, risk-based policies, and the ability to block unmanaged or compromised devices.
4. Joiner, mover, and leaver automation
Give new hires the right access, update permissions when roles change, and revoke access promptly when someone leaves.
Look for: Automated provisioning and deprovisioning, group-based permissions, session revocation, and an audit trail.
Which platforms should you evaluate?
These are the three options I’d put on an initial shortlist, based on the features and your remote-team use case.
JumpCloud
(Best starting point for mixed devices)
Combines cloud directory, identity management, application access, and device management across Windows, macOS, and Linux. Worth evaluating if you want fewer separate admin consoles.
Check: OS coverage, device policy depth, SaaS integrations, and the total cost for your team.
A natural fit if you already use Microsoft 365. Entra handles identities and access policies, while Intune manages devices and compliance. Confirm which capabilities your Microsoft subscription includes.
Check: Windows and Mac support, conditional access licensing, device enrollment, and management of non-Microsoft SaaS.
A strong candidate when your main challenge is controlling access across many SaaS applications, with centralized SSO, MFA, and user lifecycle workflows. You may need a separate endpoint-management product.
Use this when requesting demos or comparing proposals.
Requirements checklist
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[Reset] [Copy checklist]
One security requirement I would not compromise on is MFA for every business account, preferably using phishing-resistant methods such as security keys or passkeys. CISA recommends MFA throughout business systems, especially for privileged accounts and remote access.
My recommendation
Start by checking what you already pay for through Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. You may already have some identity controls, and filling the gaps could be cheaper than purchasing a new platform. If you use a mixture of operating systems and SaaS tools, evaluate JumpCloud alongside your existing suite; if you're Microsoft-centric, evaluate Entra ID and Intune first.
To narrow this down to the best fit, what does your current setup look like?
Cost: Free open-source core; commercial features and support are available separately.
A flexible identity provider with a graphical administration interface, configurable authentication flows, OIDC, SAML, LDAP integrations, and proxy-based authentication.
Best for: Small and midsize businesses, internal dashboards, and mixed application environments.
Advantages: Friendly administration, flexible integrations, good self-hosted experience.
Trade-offs: Requires ongoing server maintenance; check which advanced features are included in the edition you choose.
A lightweight authentication and authorization layer that works with reverse proxies to add a central login, access policies, and two-factor authentication to supported web applications.
Best for: Homelabs, small teams, admin dashboards, and internal web services.
Advantages: Lightweight, no per-user licensing fee, straightforward deployment for suitable setups.
Trade-offs: Not a full replacement for every enterprise identity platform; SAML and some enterprise lifecycle features are not its focus.
The main distinction is that Keycloak and authentik are broad identity-provider choices, whereas Authelia is especially attractive when the goal is to add an authentication gate in front of existing web services. ZITADEL and Ory are particularly relevant for application developers.
3. Free or low-cost managed alternatives
If you don't want to operate an identity server, a cloud service can be cheaper overall once maintenance time is included.
Microsoft Entra ID
Free tier available
A natural starting point for Microsoft 365 and Azure environments. The free tier includes SSO for Microsoft 365, Azure, and many supported SaaS apps, along with basic identity management. Advanced conditional access and identity governance may require paid licenses.
Worth evaluating for customer-facing applications that need social login and developer SDKs without running identity infrastructure. Review current free-tier user limits and feature restrictions before choosing it for production.
Commercial; check current free eligibility and plans
Consider it if your requirements extend beyond SSO to user directories, device management, and centralized access policies. Compare the full package rather than just the SSO price.
Enterprise applications, SAML, LDAP or Active Directory
Keycloak
A few internal web apps behind NGINX or Traefik
Authelia
SaaS product with multiple business customers
ZITADEL
Custom authentication built by developers
Ory
Primarily Microsoft 365
Microsoft Entra ID Free
These are starting recommendations, not guarantees that every application or feature is supported. Verify the specific integrations and license terms before deploying.
5. What does “free” really cost?
Self-hosted SSO eliminates license fees, but it doesn't eliminate the cost of operating a secure identity service.
Infrastructure: A VM, storage, backups, monitoring, and network access.
Maintenance: Security patches, upgrades, certificate renewal, and troubleshooting.
Security: MFA, protected administrator accounts, recovery procedures, and audit logging.
Availability: Redundancy and tested recovery if SSO goes down, potentially blocking access to every connected application.
For most small deployments, start with one well-maintained instance, a reliable backup process, MFA for administrators, and a documented recovery account. Avoid making your only identity provider a single point of failure without a recovery plan.
My recommendation
I'd evaluate authentik and Keycloak first if you want genuine, general-purpose SSO without recurring per-user licensing fees. Choose Authelia instead if you mainly need to protect a small collection of web apps.
To narrow this down to the most cost-effective option for your environment: Are you looking for employee SSO across business applications, or SSO for self-hosted/internal apps?
A strong choice for SAML and OpenID Connect SSO, identity federation, and integration with existing directories. Particularly appealing when you want broad capabilities without per-user licensing fees. Expect more administration and operational work.
Worth checking first if you already use Microsoft 365 or Azure. It includes user and group management, directory synchronization, and SSO across supported applications. More advanced identity protection and conditional access capabilities may require paid licensing.
A good candidate if SSO is mainly for applications you develop, customer login, or a multi-organization SaaS product. Its API-oriented design is attractive to development teams, though its AGPL licensing deserves review if licensing obligations are important to you.
Useful for putting centralized authentication and MFA in front of internal web applications behind a reverse proxy. It's not a full replacement for a corporate identity platform when you need broad SaaS federation and automated account provisioning.
A related option is Google Cloud Identity. Its free edition includes 50 user licenses by default, making it worth investigating if your organization uses Google Workspace.
Free software does not necessarily mean zero total cost. Budget for hosting, backups, monitoring, upgrades, security maintenance, and the time required to integrate applications.
Also, distinguish these capabilities before choosing:
SSO: One login across supported applications.
MFA: Additional protection during authentication.
Automated provisioning: Create, update, and disable application accounts automatically.
Conditional access: Restrict access based on risk, device, or other conditions.
Directory integration: Connect to Active Directory, LDAP, or an existing cloud directory.
If automated offboarding, audit requirements, or advanced access controls are mandatory, check the precise feature and license requirements rather than assuming an open-source SSO server covers everything.
Let’s narrow this down to the best fit for you
I can make a more useful recommendation with just a little context.
1. How many people need SSO?
1–25
26–50
51–250
251–1,000
1,000+
2. What does your environment look like?
Microsoft 365 / Entra
Google Workspace
On-premises Active Directory / LDAP
A mix of cloud and on-premises
Mostly Linux / self-hosted
3. What do you need to protect?
Employee SaaS apps (e.g., Slack, Salesforce)
Internal web apps and infrastructure
SaaS plus automated onboarding/offboarding
Customer-facing applications
A mix of all of these
4. How do you want to run it?
Self-hosting is fine if it saves money
Prefer managed cloud, even if it costs a little more
The best open-source, self-hosted options vary depending on your exact use case:
Keycloak is the industry standard and most feature-complete general-purpose open-source choice. Backed by Red Hat, it supports OpenID Connect (OIDC) and SAML 2.0, robust user federation (LDAP/Active Directory), and granular role-based access control. It has a steeper learning curve, but it handles almost any enterprise identity scenario without license fees. You can explore the project on the Keycloak Website.[](https://startwithidentity.com/articles/top-8-open-source-ciam-platforms/)
Authentik is a lighter, highly polished, and modern open-source identity provider. It excels at integrating with existing apps via forward-auth, OIDC, and SAML, and features a clean, intuitive UI. It is heavily favored by modern IT and self-hosted communities for ease of customization and integration. Learn more via the Authentik Website.
Zitadel is designed as a cloud-native, modern replacement for platforms like Auth0 or Okta. It shines in multi-tenant B2B SaaS environments, offering isolated user pools per organization, robust audit trails, and OIDC/SAML federation right out of the box. Check out the details on the Zitadel Website.[](https://www.opensourcealternatives.to/blog/best-open-source-authentication-tools)
Pocket ID is a newer, ultra-simple, and lightweight OIDC provider built specifically for homelabs and smaller setups needing straightforward passkey and OIDC authentication without the heavy footprint of Keycloak. Find it on the Pocket ID GitHub.
Authelia is an open-source authentication portal that pairs exceptionally well with reverse proxies (like Nginx Proxy Manager or Traefik) to provide multi-factor authentication (MFA) and SSO for your internal or self-hosted applications. View documentation on the Authelia Website.
To help narrow down which of these is the best fit, tell me:
Are you setting this up for internal company employees/infrastructure or customer-facing applications (B2B/B2C SaaS)?
What protocols do you primarily need (OIDC vs. SAML vs. LDAP)?
A mature, enterprise-capable identity provider with SAML, OpenID Connect (OIDC), OAuth 2.0, LDAP and Active Directory federation. A strong fit for company-wide SSO without per-user software licensing fees.
Trade-off: More involved to configure and operate than simpler alternatives.
Cost: Free software; you pay for infrastructure and administration.
A flexible identity platform with a user-friendly admin interface, OIDC, SAML, LDAP integrations and proxy-based authentication. A good choice when you want broad functionality without building your own identity workflows.
Trade-off: Some enterprise features require a commercial license; check the exact feature boundaries before adopting it.
A lightweight authentication and authorization layer for apps behind a reverse proxy. It supports MFA and OIDC, making it attractive for homelabs, internal dashboards and small self-hosted environments.
Trade-off: More configuration-oriented, and not a full replacement for a SAML-heavy enterprise identity platform.
Cost: Free and open source; you provide the hosting.
A modern identity platform suited to applications serving multiple customers or organizations. It supports OIDC and SAML and offers APIs for integrating authentication into your own applications.
Trade-off: AGPL licensing deserves review if you modify the software, and it may be more than you need for a few internal apps.
Cost: Self-hosted option available free of software fees; managed cloud plans are separate.
A modular, API-first approach to identity. Kratos handles identity management and login flows; Hydra provides OAuth 2.0 and OIDC capabilities. Useful if your team wants to build a custom authentication experience.
Trade-off: More integration work than an all-in-one identity provider. Confirm the license and deployment terms for each component you use.
Cost: Self-hosting is available without a software license fee; managed services are separate.
An all-in-one identity and access management platform with a web-based interface and support for common application login integrations. Another option if you prefer a unified admin experience.
Trade-off: Validate its integrations, maintenance requirements and compatibility with your existing applications before standardizing on it.
Cost: Free self-hosted open-source software; managed offerings may cost extra.
These are practical shortlists rather than a strict performance ranking. The distinctions above are based on current project comparisons and published project information.
Comparison: which is cheapest and easiest to run?
Tool
Best use case
SAML SSO
OIDC SSO
Relative setup effort
Keycloak
Business-wide SSO
Yes
Yes
Medium–high
authentik
Small businesses and mixed apps
Yes
Yes
Medium
Authelia
Internal web apps behind a proxy
No native SAML IdP
Yes
Low–medium
ZITADEL
Customer-facing SaaS
Yes
Yes
Medium
Ory
Custom application authentication
Component-dependent
Yes
High
Casdoor
All-in-one application IAM
Yes
Yes
Medium
Qualitative comparison; setup effort depends on integrations and deployment environment. Protocol support is based on the projects' published capabilities.
What will it actually cost?
All six have self-hosting options that avoid per-user software licensing fees, but “free” does not mean zero operating cost.
Infrastructure: A VPS, VM or existing server, plus storage and backups.
Administration: Updates, security configuration, monitoring and recovery testing.
Integrations: Some applications may require additional connectors or a reverse proxy.
Commercial support: Optional, but potentially valuable for business-critical authentication.
For a small deployment, start by testing Keycloak, authentik or Authelia on infrastructure you already have. Compare actual resource use and the maintenance effort before buying a larger server.
My recommendation by scenario
For a company with many applications
Start with Keycloak if you need standards-based SSO, Active Directory integration or SAML. Choose authentik if ease of administration and reverse-proxy integrations matter more.
For a homelab or small internal environment
Start with Authelia if most apps sit behind a reverse proxy and you mainly need centralized access control and MFA. Choose authentik if you need a more complete identity provider.
For a SaaS product with customer accounts
Evaluate ZITADEL first, or Ory if you want to assemble your own identity stack and custom login experience.
Three things to check before committing
Application compatibility: Do your apps support OIDC, SAML, LDAP, or none of these? This can eliminate unsuitable options immediately.
Licensing: If you need every feature to remain free and open source, review the actual license and any separately licensed modules.
Security and recovery: Confirm MFA support, account recovery, secure secret storage, backups and a tested restore process.
One important distinction: a reverse-proxy authentication gateway is not always a substitute for a full SSO identity provider. If applications must share a central identity and support their own SSO integrations, prioritize Keycloak, authentik or ZITADEL.
Let me narrow this down for your environment
A few details will help me recommend the best two or three tools and estimate the hosting cost.
The best open-source, self-hosted SSO tools available span across different use cases:
Keycloak — The industry heavy-hitter backed by Red Hat. It features a robust Apache 2.0 license, native support for OpenID Connect (OIDC) and SAML 2.0, LDAP/Active Directory federation, user self-service, and extensive fine-grained authorization. Best for enterprise-grade apps and complex infrastructure.
Authentik — A modern, incredibly flexible Identity Provider that excels at both standard application SSO (OIDC/SAML) and "forward auth" (integrating directly with reverse proxies like Nginx or Traefik to protect internal home-lab or corporate dashboard services). It features an intuitive UI and powerful customization pipeline.[](https://startwithidentity.com/articles/top-10-open-source-iam-solutions/)
Authelia — A lightweight, highly secure, and resource-efficient OIDC/2FA portal. It is written in Go and designed specifically to work hand-in-hand with reverse proxies to provide portal-based single sign-on for home labs and lightweight production environments.[](https://startwithidentity.com/articles/top-10-open-source-iam-solutions/)
Zitadel — Built cloud-native from the ground up, Zitadel is fantastic for multi-tenant B2B SaaS applications. It handles strong consistency, event-sourcing audit trails, and delegated access control natively, though note its transition to an AGPL-3.0 license.[](https://www.opensourcealternatives.to/blog/best-open-source-authentication-tools)
SuperTokens — A developer-focused, highly extensible open-source authentication suite. It is great if you want drop-in login UI blocks and session management with straightforward self-hosted Docker deployment while avoiding rigid enterprise setups.
To help narrow down the best fit, tell me:
Are you planning to secure internal self-hosted apps (home lab/corporate tools) or customer-facing software (SaaS/web apps)?
Do you have a preference for protocols like OIDC, SAML, or LDAP?
User Request: A remote user attempts to access your legacy web app via a public URL provided by the cloud identity provider.
Authentication & Policy Check: The cloud proxy intercepts the request and prompts the user to log in via single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA). It evaluates context rules like device health, location, and group membership.[](https://delinea.com/blog/identity-aware-proxy-iap)
Secure Outbound Tunnel: A small connector agent installed inside your on-premises data center maintains an active, outbound-only connection to the cloud service.
Choose Your Identity Provider: Select a cloud platform matching your ecosystem, such as Microsoft Entra ID Application Proxy or Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) combined with on-premises connectors.
Install the On-Premises Connector: Deploy the lightweight connector software on a local server or virtual machine within your private corporate network that has internal network reachability to your legacy web app.
Publish the Application: Register your local internal URL (e.g., http://intranet.local ) and assign a public external domain within the cloud administration console.
Test and Validate: Direct users to the new public-facing URL to verify that authentication prompts trigger properly before any data packets route through the internal connector to the legacy app.
If you'd like to proceed, let me know:
Which cloud provider you use (e.g., Microsoft Azure/Entra ID or Google Cloud Platform)
Whether your legacy app uses HTTP/HTTPS or an alternative protocol
I can provide the specific configuration steps for your setup.
Install the vendor's lightweight connector agent (e.g., Microsoft Entra Private Network Connector or Google App/On-Prem Connector) on a local server or VM inside your corporate network.
Run diagnostic sign-on tests through the cloud administration portal to verify the connector successfully translates and forwards authenticated traffic.
A cloud identity proxy lets you put a modern identity/security layer in front of a legacy on-premises web application without rewriting the application first. The basic pattern is:
For example, Microsoft Entra Application Proxy and Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy both support this general architecture for on-premises HTTP(S) applications.
Recommended process
Inventory and classify the applications
Identify URLs, servers, authentication method, dependencies, user groups, sensitivity, and whether the app requires Windows Integrated Authentication, headers, forms-based login, etc.
Separate applications that can be modernized directly from those that need a proxy as an interim solution.
Choose the identity proxy
If your organization uses Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft Entra Application Proxy is a natural option.
In Google Cloud environments, Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) can front on-premises HTTP/HTTPS applications using its on-prem connector.
Deploy the on-premises connector
Install the vendor's connector inside your network where it can reach the legacy application.
Prefer redundant connectors/instances rather than creating a single point of failure. Microsoft specifically recommends capacity planning and connector redundancy.
A major security advantage is that the connector can establish outbound connections rather than requiring you to expose the application server directly to the Internet. Microsoft documents this outbound-only connector model.
Publish the application through the proxy
Configure:
External URL
Internal application URL
TLS/HTTPS
Identity provider
Authorized users/groups
Pre-authentication behavior
With Microsoft Entra Application Proxy, for example, Microsoft recommends Microsoft Entra ID preauthentication when you want the identity layer to authenticate users before the request reaches the legacy application.
Put modern authentication in front of the legacy authentication
This is particularly useful because the legacy application doesn't necessarily need to understand modern authentication itself.
Configure SSO to the legacy application
This depends on what the application understands:
Integrated Windows Authentication: commonly use Kerberos-based SSO/Kerberos Constrained Delegation.
Header-based authentication: the proxy can inject identity attributes expected by the application.
Forms/username-password authentication: some proxy products support password-based SSO.
Unsupported/custom authentication: you may need an integration product or ultimately modify/modernize the application.
Microsoft documents all of these patterns for Application Proxy, including Kerberos-based IWA and header-based SSO.
Enforce access policy at the identity layer
This is where much of the security improvement occurs. Typical policies include:
MFA/phishing-resistant authentication
Require managed/compliant devices
Restrict particular applications to specific groups
Location/network restrictions
Sign-in risk policies
Session/lifetime controls
Microsoft Entra Conditional Access, for example, can apply policies based on user, location, device, application, and risk.
Remove direct Internet exposure
Once the proxy path is working, the legacy server should generally not also be directly exposed to the Internet. The proxy becomes the controlled ingress point. Microsoft describes Application Proxy as an alternative to exposing incoming firewall ports for supported scenarios.
Pilot before broad rollout
Start with one low-risk application and a small group:
Test authentication and MFA.
Test every important application function, not just the login page.
Test file uploads/downloads, WebSockets, redirects, APIs, timeouts, and legacy browser behavior as applicable.
Verify logging and incident-response visibility.
Test connector failure/redundancy.
Roll out application-by-application
Once the pattern works, migrate the applications in waves. Keep an inventory of which applications are merely protected by the proxy versus which have actually been modernized.
Important architectural point
A proxy is primarily a security/access bridge, not a replacement for application modernization. It can give a vulnerable legacy application a modern authentication and authorization boundary, but vulnerabilities inside the application itself—SQL injection, insecure business logic, outdated libraries, etc.—still need to be addressed.
Also, don't blindly use "passthrough" authentication if your goal is to enforce cloud identity controls. For example, Microsoft notes that Conditional Access doesn't apply to Application Proxy applications using passthrough preauthentication because the user isn't authenticated by Microsoft Entra first.
The key principle is "authenticate and authorize at the edge, then privately proxy to the legacy application." Over time, you can replace the proxy-protected applications with applications that natively support modern identity protocols, reducing the legacy dependency.
Instead of prompting the user for local credentials (like basic auth, NTLM, or an aging on-prem LDAP form), the proxy pauses the request and redirects the user to the cloud Identity Provider (IdP) (e.g., Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, or Google Cloud IAM).
Once authentication succeeds, the cloud service passes the traffic through a lightweight connector or agent installed within the internal corporate network (behind the firewall).
This connector maintains an outbound-only encrypted connection (like a persistent WebSocket or TLS tunnel) to the cloud. Because the connection is initiated from the inside out, network administrators do not need to open fragile inbound ports like 443 or 80 on their corporate firewalls.
Token Translation and Header Injection
Legacy web apps often rely on basic session cookies, IP tracking, or simple HTTP headers (like passing a username or email in a clear-text header field) to recognize who is logged in.
Before the connector relays the final HTTP request to the internal legacy server, the cloud control plane evaluates fine-grained access rules (e.g., "Does this user belong to the 'Finance' security group?").
For example, Microsoft Entra Application Proxy uses a cloud service plus an on-premises private-network connector. A user visits the application's published URL, is redirected to Microsoft Entra for authentication, and the connector then reaches the internal application.
Google Cloud's IAP provides a similar model: its on-premises connector receives authenticated/authorized requests and forwards them over hybrid connectivity to the internal application.
What happens when a user connects?
1. The user goes to a normal HTTPS URL
Instead of exposing something like:
https://old-app.company.com
directly to the Internet, DNS points the user toward the proxy's public endpoint.
2. The proxy authenticates the user
The proxy redirects the browser to the organization's identity provider. This is where modern controls can happen:
SSO
MFA
group membership
device compliance
conditional/context-aware access
risk-based policies
For example, Microsoft specifically describes using Entra Application Proxy to put MFA and Conditional Access in front of legacy applications. learn.microsoft.comdocs.cloud.google.com Google IAP similarly supports identity- and context-based authorization policies.
3. The proxy makes the authorization decision
Authentication answers "Who are you?"
Authorization answers "Are you allowed to use this particular application?"
The proxy can therefore enforce something such as:
Alice is authenticated, is in the Finance group, and is using a compliant device → allow access to the payroll application.
Someone who successfully authenticates but isn't authorized for that application never reaches the legacy server.
4. The proxy connects to the private application
This is an important security advantage. The legacy server generally doesn't need to be exposed directly to the Internet.
With Microsoft Entra Application Proxy, the on-prem connector establishes the required communication with the cloud service; Microsoft documents this as avoiding the need for inbound firewall connections.
So instead of:
Internet ──► Firewall ──► Legacy server
you get approximately:
Internet
│
▼
Cloud identity proxy
│
│ authenticated/authorized request
▼
Cloud ↔ private connector
│
▼
Legacy server
The clever part: adapting modern identity to legacy authentication
This is often the main reason to deploy one.
Suppose an old application only understands a legacy mechanism such as HTTP headers. You don't necessarily have to rewrite the application to understand modern OAuth/OIDC/SAML.
The proxy can act as the translation layer:
Modern world Legacy world
Microsoft Entra / IdP
│
│ OIDC/SAML/etc.
▼
Identity proxy
│
│ legacy-compatible
│ authentication/header
▼
Old web application
Microsoft documents this explicitly for header-based applications: the intermediary authenticates the user and propagates the required HTTP headers to the destination application.
That makes the proxy a kind of security adapter around the legacy application.
Why this is useful
It lets an organization modernize access control without immediately modernizing the application.
You can consequently get:
Without proxy
With identity proxy
Application-specific passwords
Centralized SSO
Often no MFA
MFA at identity layer
Internet-facing legacy server
Private application
App-specific authorization
Centralized identity/group policies
VPN often required
Browser-based application access
Legacy authentication
Modern IdP + translation
Separate access administration
Central identity lifecycle
Microsoft explicitly positions Application Proxy as a transition path for legacy on-premises applications that aren't capable of modern authentication.
One important caveat
The proxy doesn't magically make the legacy application secure.
You still need to make sure users cannot bypass the proxy and reach the application directly. Google, for example, specifically warns that backends need to be protected from direct access when IAP is being used.
And you need to decide how the proxy's authenticated identity is conveyed to the application—signed assertions/headers, Kerberos/NTLM delegation, etc.—without allowing users to forge those identity signals.
In one sentence: a cloud identity proxy puts a modern, centrally managed identity and policy enforcement point in front of a legacy application, then securely carries authorized requests from the cloud edge into the private network while translating the identity into whatever the old application can understand.
If you're interested, I can also explain how this differs from a traditional VPN, reverse proxy, and zero-trust access proxy—that's where the architectural distinction becomes especially clear.
Why it fits: Okta provides a flexible workflow engine that integrates deeply with HR systems, or custom non-employee databases, using SCIM and REST APIs.
Key Contractor Feature: Okta Workflows can be triggered to automatically provision downstream apps the moment a contractor profile is activated, and instantly deprovision all app access when the profile status flips or hits a scheduled expiration date.[](https://www.onelogin.com/learn/top-5-idaas-tools-for-provisioning/)
