Enhance Hybrid Work Security and Device Management with Okta and VMware Integration in Google Workspace

Google Cloud today announced a series of new security alliances to bring more choice, capability, and simplicity to enterprise and public sector IT teams tasked with managing hybrid work at large scale, often for tens of thousands of users.
 
Google Workspace comes with industry-leading security built-in to its cloud-native, zero trust architecture. These capabilities combine threat defenses powered by Google AI, client-side encryption, data privacy controls, and simple access to Google Cloud cybersecurity products like BeyondCorp Enterprise and Chronicle Security Operations, to automatically stop the vast majority of online threats before they emerge and support customers’ regulatory and sovereignty needs. Through its ecosystem of cybersecurity partners, Google Workspace can extend these capabilities further by combining them with tools from the industry’s leading security companies, enabling customers to adopt comprehensive, secure collaboration solutions to meet their specific security needs as part of a single Google Workspace offering. 
 
“Global enterprises want to provide their workforces with more effective and secure ways of collaborating, with tools that increase productivity and avoid the vulnerabilities of older communications systems,” said Sunil Potti, VP of cloud security, Google Cloud. “Through its growing ecosystem of security partners, Google Workspace offers the most enterprise-ready platform for hybrid work, providing organizations with confidence and flexibility to work securely with advanced capabilities from Okta, VMware, and more.”
 
Securing Enterprise Workforces with VMware and Okta
Today, Google Cloud is extending the built-in identity, device, and access management capabilities of Google Workspace through new alliances with VMware and Okta, enabling large-scale businesses and public sector organizations to provide their workforces with FedRAMP-authorized collaboration and communication tools. Google Workspace works seamlessly with the enterprise-grade device and application management capabilities in VMware Workspace ONE, and the identity and access management capabilities in Okta Workforce Identity Cloud, providing organizations with more choice and flexibility in how they enable safer collaboration for their workforce.
 

• VMware Workspace ONE extends VMware’s industry-leading unified endpoint management and zero trust access capabilities to Google Workspace. IT teams can manage all Google Workspace apps through VMware’s comprehensive platform, which provides users with quick and easy access to business applications and makes it simple for administrators to onboard devices, change configurations, push automated OS updates, and more, without requiring a combination of disjointed third-party solutions. Workspace ONE administrators can also access a collection of device-health dashboards and reports, along with multi-tenancy for management across geographies, organizations, and use cases.
• Okta’s Workforce Identity Cloud brings Okta’s leading identity and access management capabilities to Google Workspace customers, securely connecting employees, contractors, and business partners from any device and any location. Workforce Identity Cloud’s flexible rules and policies ensure employees have just the right level of access they need to get their work done. With Okta, employees can use their Google Workspace credentials across more than 7,000 pre-built apps in the Okta Integration Network to reduce password sprawl for increased security. ​​

 
“The rapid shift to hybrid work has highlighted the need for IT teams to do more with less, while simultaneously balancing the increasing demands of security and productivity,” said Renu Upadhyay, VP of product marketing, End-User Computing, VMware. “This VMware and Google partnership unlocks a transformative approach to end-user computing by creating an automated, unified, and secure experience across all endpoints, apps, and enterprise services, no matter where employees work.”
 
“Identity is the connective tissue between a business’s ecosystem of people and the technologies they need to be successful in hybrid and remote work,” said Arnab Bose, Chief Product Officer, Workforce Identity Cloud at Okta. “This partnership allows us to bring identity-powered security to Google Workspace customers while giving them an easy button to optimize their employee experiences and increase operational efficiency.”
 
“In APAC, Okta is helping enterprises to leverage customer and workforce identity as new business assets in the same league as cash, working capital, reserves and property,” said Ben Goodman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Okta Asia Pacific and Japan. “Today’s announcement is a veritable step towards helping organisations adopt next-generation workplace and collaboration toolsets, so that they can be much more responsive to client needs to deliver business impact.”
 
Helping Small and Midsize Organizations Replace Legacy Directory Services with JumpCloud
JumpCloud Open Directory Platform provides customers with an alternative directory service to replace aging Microsoft Active Directory servers with a modern cloud-based solution. The platform works seamlessly with Google Workspace, enabling identity workflows and synchronization to thousands of applications, HRIS systems, and cloud infrastructure. It also combines these features with desktop and mobile device fleet management capabilities to ensure secure, frictionless access to applications and other resources from any operating system or location an employee chooses to work from.
 
“IT teams are looking for solutions that centralize access, device, and identity management. They need easier and more effective ways to secure how work happens,” said Greg Keller, CTO and co-founder, JumpCloud. “The Google Cloud and JumpCloud bundle gives IT teams a modern and affordable solution to securely manage today’s work on-prem, in the cloud or on the go. This partnership and bundled offering provides IT teams, and channel IT solution providers, a more affordable, best in class alternative to expensive, legacy Microsoft packages.”
 
Google Workspace’s Flexible, Secure Ecosystem
Google Workspace is committed to offer more choice by providing organizations of any size with the ability to combine purpose-built security tools from its ecosystem of cybersecurity partners, such as CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, and now VMware, Okta, and JumpCloud. Over the coming year, deeper technical integrations with these partners will expand the joint capabilities available to Google Workspace customers, making it even easier to adopt Google Workspace for organizations with the most rigorous security and regulatory requirements.
 
Interested customers can learn more here.