Careers at Okta

Mission

Okta seeks to assist commercial and institutional clients across multiple industries in easily accessing technologies and tools that are necessary for their operations through cloud-based solutions and integrated systems.

Founding story

Okta was founded in 2009 by former Salesforce employees Todd McKinnon (“McKinnon”) and Frederic Kerrest (“Kerrest”). McKinnon acknowledged the potential for software-as-as-service offerings, such as those provided by Salesforce, but identified a common issue with the process, noting that, while these products are able to increase enterprise efficiency, it can quickly become difficult to track which individuals within an enterprise have access to which platforms and technologies. Since its foundation, Okta has pioneered the identity-as-a-service market, developing a range of cloud-based solutions and integrated systems.

Okta has expanded its operations significantly since its early days, now serving an international customers base of more than 2,000 commercial and institutional clients, including high-profile names such as Amazin, Dropbox, and Oracle. The Company was founded using $750,000 in debt financing, following which the Company completed several rounds of formal investor funding.

To date, Okta has raised more than $228.5 million in funding from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, and Sequoia Capital. The Company was valued recently at approximately $1.2 billion, and is in the process of arranging an initial public offering.

Benefits at Okta

Health insurance Dental insurance Vision insurance Life insurance Disability insurance Mental health care Performance bonus 401k Plan Stock options Work from home Vacation & Paid time off Paid holidays Paid sick days Bereavement leave Company social events Free lunch or snacks

Business model of Okta

Customer Segments

Okta provides a broad range of integrated system and cloud-based solutions to a diverse network of commercial and institutional clients. The Company’s customers span wide range of industries, including the following:

  • Retail and Consumer, comprising commercial retailers across multiple sectors and producers of consumer goods and services;
  • Education, comprising educational and academic institutions such as universities, as well as providers of education services;
  • Banking and Finance, comprising a range of independent and multinational financial service providers and banking institutions;
  • Life Science, comprising various life science research and pharmaceutical companies;
  • Manufacturing, comprising a range of industrial businesses and manufacturers of various products and components;
  • Media and Publishing, comprising news and media organisations, broadcast companies, publishers, and film studios;
  • Technology and Telecommunications, comprising technology companies, software and solutions developers, and digital service providers;
  • Transportation, comprising various transportation companies, including airlines, logistics providers, and airports; and
  • Institutional, comprising various charitable and non-profit organisations and government institutions and public bodies.

Okta includes a number of high-profile businesses among its major clients, including Etihad Airways, Adobe, 20th Century Fox, Del Monte, Rosetta Stone, LinkedIn, and Groupon. Okta serves customers around the world, divided into the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and North America regions.

Value Propositions

Okta provides value to its clients in the following ways:

  • Its industry standing and reputation, with the Company established as a leading provider of cloud-based and integrated system software solutions, with its standing demonstrated by its ability to secure business form influential clients such as Time Warner, Toyota, and Groupon;
  • Its international sales reach, with the Company serving an extensive global client base, including customers across multiple industries and jurisdictions, including in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific;
  • Its accessibility and ease of use, with the Company offering its solutions to clients through its cloud-based platform, as well as mobile applications, providing an easy-to-use system that requires no technical expertise;
  • Its proprietary technologies, with the Company utilising a range of proprietary technologies in the development of its solutions and platforms, enabling it to offer solutions that are unique in the market; and
  • Its industry expertise and experience, with the Company employing specialist technical personnel across its operating units, as well as a team of experienced industry executives.

Channels

Okta operates a website at www.okta.com, through which it provides information on its various products, solutions and platforms, as well as its customers, operating regions, and partners. In addition to detailing its various products, the Company allows customers to try its products free of charge for a foxed period, following which they are given the option to purchase a paid subscription. The Company’s platforms can be accessed through the Company’s website or via its mobile apps.

Okta also has a direct sales force – operating out of offices across Australia, the US, and Europe – which customers are able to contact for further details and support. Okta additionally utilises the services of various channel partners that assist in dealing with complex solutions or building Okta functionality into a broader IT security strategy. These partners include systems integrators and value added resellers who provide certain services to clients on Okta’s behalf.

Customer Relationships

Okta offers its products to customers on a self-service basis directly through its website. Customers are able to sign up for a free product trial online, use the product’s full functionality independently, and upgrade to a full-paid subscription plan without interacting directly with sales or service representatives. Okta’s direct sales force offers a more personalised experience, providing advice and guidance to customers where necessary.

Okta provides ongoing support to its clients, with customers able to contact support personnel over the phone or via email in order to receive tailored responses to queries, enquiries, and complaints. The Company offers three support tiers that include differing resources, including training videos, on-site support, and webinars, as well as free resources such as white papers and analyst papers.

Okta provides information on its upcoming events, allowing clients to attend and interact with company representatives in person. It also operates social media accounts with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, through which it is able to provide company updates and interact directly with clients.

Key Activities

Okta is a developer and provider of integrated system and cloud-based software solutions that securely connect users via any device to technologies required to complete their work.

Its services are offered primarily via its online platform, through which customers can access products such as universal directory, single sign-on, automatic authentication, provisioning, centralised control of people and groups, adaptive multi-factor authentication, policy framework, mobility management, reporting, and policy engine solutions. Okta serves a diverse client base spanning a broad range of industries – including the technology, financial services, education, and retail sectors – across North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Key Partners

Okta collaborates closely with a broad network of partner companies and organisations in order to provide effective, reliable, and innovative solutions to its clients. These partners can be organised broadly into the following categories:

  • Supplier and Vendor Partners, comprising suppliers of services, technologies, and equipment that support the company’s core development and implementation activities across its various operating units;
  • Application Partners, comprising a range of product, software, and application developers with which the Company integrates functionality, shares tools and resources, and collaborates on projects;
  • Solutions Partners, comprising a range of technology consulting firms, systems integrators, security providers, and identity management companies that provide specialised solutions and support to the Company; and
  • Channel and Distribution Partners, comprising value added resellers, distributors, and integration partners that assist in delivering the Company’s various products and solutions to customers.

Okta has launched a number of partnerships in recent years. This includes a tie-up with Google to develop solutions to secure cloud identities, an integration partnership with Box seeking to develop enterprise mobility management solutions, and a security partnership with Bugcrowd.

Key Resources

Okta’s key resources are its technologies and intellectual properties, its software products and platforms, its IT and communications infrastructure, its sales and distribution channels, its network of partners, and its personnel.

Okta utilises a range of proprietary technologies and intellectual properties in the development of its solutions and products. Searches of records published by the US Patent and Trademark Office identified a number of patent applications filed in Okta’s name, including applications entitled ‘Updating integration metadata in a system’, ‘Facilitating single sign-on to software applications’ and ‘Extensible framework for communicating over a firewall with a software application regarding a user account’.

Okta also owns and or leases a portfolio of physical properties around the world, notably its network of sales and administrative offices.

Cost Structure

Okta incurs costs in relation to the development of its products and technologies, the development and maintenance of its online platforms, the maintenance of its IT and communications infrastructure, the operation of its sales and distribution channels, the procurement of consulting and professional services, the implementation of marketing campaigns, and the retention of its personnel.

Revenue Streams

Okta generates revenue through the provision of various integrated system and cloud-based application solutions to customers across multiple industries. The Company principally derives its revenue under a subscription, as well as through service contracts. Okta principally offers its products to customers at between $1 and $4 per month, per user. Enterprises with more than 5,000 users are offered a custom quote.

Okta remains a privately-owned company, and as such is not obliged to disclose its financial results online. Reports from 2015 suggested, however, that the Company expected to generate annual revenue in excess of $100 million.

Our team

Todd McKinnon,
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

info: McKinnon has served as Chief Executive Officer at Okta since co-founding the Company in 2009. He oversees the Company’s overall strategic direction. He also serves as a director of non-profit organisation Family House. McKinnon is a Computer Science graduate, and a technical specialist. He began his career at Peoplesoft in 1995, where he served for eight years in software development roles. He joined Salesforce in 2003 as Senior Vice President of Development, where he remained until co-founding Okta. McKinnon also took on work as an independent technical due diligence contractor in 2009, during which time he did work for Facebook.

Frederic Kerrest,
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer

info: Kerrest has served as Chief Operating Officer at Okta since co-founding the Company in 2009. He oversees much of the day-to-day operations across the enterprise. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees at The Ocean School, and serves as a mentor at the MIT Trust Centre for Entrepreneurship and Stanford StartX Accelerator Program. Kerrest began his career as a software engineer at Sun Microsystems in 1997, a role he held for two years before joining Moai Technologies in the same position. After nine months, he moved to Meridian Global Solutions, where he was named Associate Founder and Director of the Enterprise Technology Division. In 2002 Kerrest joined Salesforce, where he first met McKinnon, in a sales and business development role.

Bill Losch,
Chief Financial Officer

info: Bill has served as Chief Financial Officer at Okta since joining the Company in 2013. He is responsible for leading the Company’s various financial functions, including its internal audit, accounting, and tax units. Losch is an experienced financial executive, having held senior leadership roles at various well-known companies. He began his career at KPMG Peat Marwick, where he served as a manager from 1984 to 1988. He moved to Universal Studios in 1993, where he served in several Vice President roles before being appointed Chief Accounting Officer at Yahoo. Losch went on to serve in several senior executive positions, including spells as Chief Accounting Officer at Dreamworks Animations and Chief Financial Officer at MobiTV.