Okta's Businesses at Work Report Highlights Cloud Usage Trends

Okta’s Latest ‘Business at Work’ Report Highlights Shifting Cloud Preferences

Okta has published its eighth annual ‘Business at Work’ report, analyzing application and cloud service usage on the Okta identity platform between November 1, 2020, and October 31, 2021.

The findings indicate a growing preference among Okta users for a best-of-breed approach, rather than relying on single-vendor solutions that were more common in the past.

Dominance of Key Players and the Rise of Multi-Tooling

Microsoft Office 365 continues to be the most utilized service. AWS holds the second position, while Google Workspace is rapidly gaining traction with a 38% year-over-year increase.

Interestingly, a significant number of organizations – 38% of Office 365 users – also leverage Google Workspace. Furthermore, 45% utilize Zoom and 33% employ Slack alongside Microsoft’s offerings.

This demonstrates a willingness to adopt competing tools, even when Microsoft and Google provide similar functionalities, if those tools better suit specific business needs, particularly among Okta’s user base.

Trends Reflecting Market Shifts

The report’s observations align with established market trends, notably the increasing adoption of multi-cloud strategies and a move away from vendor lock-in.

This shift may account for the debut of several rapidly growing tools in the ‘Business at Work’ report, including Notion, TripActions, Postman, Keeper, Airtable, Fivetran, and Gong.

These companies are experiencing substantial growth, as evidenced by recent funding rounds: Airtable secured $735 million at an $11 billion valuation, Fivetran raised $565 million at $5.6 billion, and Gong obtained $250 million at $7.5 billion, suggesting a correlation between rising investor interest and mainstream adoption.

Cloud Infrastructure Landscape

AWS maintains its leadership position in the cloud infrastructure market, mirroring its 32% usage rate within Okta’s data, a figure consistent with its overall market share over the past several years.

The report also reflects a broader trend towards multi-cloud adoption, with 14% of users implementing a multi-cloud infrastructure strategy. This number, while seemingly low, represents an increase from 8% in 2017.

The most common infrastructure pairing among Okta users is AWS and GCP, currently representing 2.6% of deployments.

Global Cloud Adoption

Cloud service utilization is expanding globally, encompassing Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Google Workspace experienced a 68% year-over-year growth in APAC, while Slack and Zoom saw increases of 49% and 45%, respectively, in EMEA.

Report Methodology and Scope

The report is based on data collected from Okta’s 14,000 customers and 7,000 integrations with cloud, mobile, and web applications, spanning the period from November 1, 2020, to October 31, 2021.

It’s important to note that the data reflects usage patterns specifically within the Okta customer base and may not be fully representative of overall cloud adoption trends.

However, it provides valuable insights into how companies are currently utilizing cloud services.

Data Compilation Process

Okta CEO Todd McKinnon stated that a dedicated team of approximately five to six individuals is responsible for compiling and analyzing the data for this report.

This team includes data warehouse specialists, analysts, and receives input from McKinnon and the content/PR team to identify key findings. Collaboration with Okta’s partners is also integral to the process, as they are interested in the report’s data.