Okta, Cloud Sherpas Team Up For Cloud Management

Cloud identity and access management player Okta Google Apps cloud provider Cloud Sherpas

The partnership, which marries Atlanta-based Cloud Sherpas' Google Apps prowess with San Francisco-based Okta's identity management capabilities, was launched to help companies adopt Google Apps while streamlining the initial set-up and reduce IT expenses, while also boosting productivity.

According to Okta, as companies adopt Google Apps and other cloud-based applications that are separate from their existing on-premise infrastructure, identity and access management become major challenges for both users and administrators. Adding Okta's capabilities lets companies manage all of their Web-based applications, including their Google Apps from Cloud Sherpas, regardless of the authentication methods they support or whether those applications are run inside or outside the firewall. Meanwhile end users get a single sign-on for Google Apps and other Web-based applications, and administrators receive automated user management capabilities to manage Google Apps accounts.

The pairing with Cloud Sherpas was a given, Okta said, considering that Cloud Sherpas is one of the largest Google cloud resellers and solution providers and has brought more than one million end users from hundreds of companies to Google Apps. The pair also has an existing partnership and have worked together to deliver cloud solutions to a host of companies, including Lexington, Mass.-based AMAG Pharmaceuticals, a company that uses Okta to manage Google Apps and more than 20 other cloud-based applications.

Along with their reseller partnership, Cloud Sherpas has also signed on as an Okta customer, using it internally to secure and manage its own Web-based applications, a move that adds management capabilities to more than 50 Web-based applications companywide and has already achieved cost reductions and productivity increases.

"Cloud Sherpas has deep real-world experience in dealing with IT and end user challenges associated with adopting Google Apps," Roger Goulart, Okta's vice president of business development and strategic accounts, said in a statement. "This partnership is largely driven by the joint successes we've already seen in the market. Many companies are already running their core IT services in the cloud, but there's still work to be done. Working with Cloud Sherpas will help us to reach a broader audience and accelerate the next phase of growth for Okta."