Okta and Cloud Sherpas Partner to Accelerate Enterprise Adoption of Cloud Computing

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwire - Sep 20, 2011) - Today, Okta, the leading on-demand identity and access management service, and Cloud Sherpas, the world's leading Google Apps™ cloud service provider, announced a new partnership with the goal of accelerating enterprise adoption of cloud computing. This partnership between Okta and Cloud Sherpas will help organizations of all sizes adopt Google Apps™ and streamline initial set-up and reduce IT expenses, as well as increase productivity for employees and administrators.

Cloud Sherpas is a preeminent reseller and solutions provider, simplifying the process of 'going Google,' and has helped more than one million end users from hundreds of companies migrate to Google Apps™ -- the leading cloud email and collaboration platform for businesses from start-ups to large enterprises.

As companies move to Google Apps™ and other cloud-based applications separate from existing on-premise IT infrastructure, they face identity and access management challenges for both users and administrators. Okta is a simple and flexible solution that enables companies to securely manage all web-based applications, including Google Apps™, regardless of the authentication methods they support or whether they run inside or outside the corporate firewall. For end users, this means single sign-on for Google Apps™ and all other web-based applications they access, and for IT administrators, it means automated user management capabilities to efficiently and securely manage Google Apps™ accounts.

Okta and Cloud Sherpas have already worked together to bring cloud to a number of companies, including AMAG Pharmaceuticals, a Lexington, MA-based company using Okta to manage Google Apps™ and more than 20 other cloud-based applications.

"Cloud Sherpas was absolutely essential in helping us make the move to Google Apps. Plus, we run our business on over 20 cloud applications, so that's where Okta comes in. It's the combination of the migration services Cloud Sherpas provides and the Okta platform that holds it all together that has allowed us to see successful results," said Nathan McBride, executive director of IT, AMAG Pharmaceuticals. "We've cut our IT budget in half over the past three years. We attribute much of that to using cloud-based applications to run our business, and using Cloud Sherpas and Okta for adoption and management."

In addition to the reseller partnership, the companies also announced that Cloud Sherpas has selected Okta for internal use to secure and manage the company's web-based applications. Cloud Sherpas now uses Okta to manage over 50 web-based applications across the entire company and has already seen initial benefits, including reduced administrative costs and significant increases in user productivity.

"As more companies make the move to cloud, central application and access management is absolutely critical. Okta is the glue that holds it all together. This partnership enables us to provide increased customer value," said Eran Gil, Founder and VP Business Development, Cloud Sherpas. "Okta offers an innovative, native cloud approach to give IT more control around user management and provisioning, as well as make it super simple for all employees across a company to get access to all applications, Google Apps included."

"Cloud Sherpas has deep real-world experience in dealing with IT and end user challenges associated with adopting Google Apps," said Roger Goulart, Vice President of Business Development & Strategic Accounts, Okta. "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."

About Okta

Okta is the market leading on-demand identity and access management service that enables enterprises to accelerate the secure adoption of their web-based applications, both in the cloud and behind the firewall. Okta delivers a complete solution addressing the needs of IT, end-users, and business leaders; no customization required.

Okta's initial service is built on a secure, reliable and extensible on-demand, multi-tenant cloud services platform. That platform will be the foundation for a growing set of core Okta and partner services that empower businesses to eliminate cloud adoption barriers and unlock the potential of the cloud for enterprise users everywhere.

The Okta team has built, deployed, and supported market leading, on-demand and enterprise software solutions from companies including Salesforce.com, SuccessFactors, PeopleSoft, Microsoft, Sun and HP. Okta is backed by premiere angel and venture investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures, FLOODGATE and Ron Conway. For more information, visit us at www.okta.com or follow us on www.okta.com/blog.

About Cloud Sherpas

Cloud Sherpas (www.cloudsherpas.com) is a leading Google Apps cloud services provider. As a Google Apps Authorized Reseller and Google Enterprise partner, Cloud Sherpas has migrated over one million users across all major industries from legacy, on-premise messaging systems to Google Apps, helping organizations adopt cloud computing to innovate and dramatically reduce their IT expenses. SherpaTools for Google Apps (www.sherpatools.com), our flagship product, enhances the functionality and ease-of-use of Google Apps for both administrators and end-users. As the #1 ranked tool in the Google Apps Marketplace, SherpaTools has been installed on over 20,000 domains in over 110 countries representing over 3.5 million end-users.