CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Okta vs WatchGuard Technologies

Okta sells a platform that secures identities, including the AI agents running across a business. WatchGuard Technologies sells a Unified Security Platform that combines network, endpoint, identity and cloud protection, purpose-built for MSPs servicing midsize companies and SMBs. CISO Tribune files both under Workforce IAM and SSO. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • Okta
  • WatchGuard Technologies
Okta vs WatchGuard Technologies: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
OktaOkta sells a platform that secures identities, including the AI agents running across a business.okta.comWatchGuard TechnologiesWatchGuard Technologies sells a Unified Security Platform that combines network, endpoint, identity and cloud protection, purpose-built for MSPs servicing midsize companies and SMBs.watchguard.com
What it sells
  • Okta for AI Agents[9][12][19]Okta for AI Agents extends discovery, lifecycle management and governance to every agent in the enterprise.
  • Cross App Access[19]Cross App Access is an open standard that Okta makes part of core Okta SSO.
  • Unified Security Platform[1][5]WatchGuard unifies network, endpoint, identity and cloud protection under one agent, one console and one AI intelligence layer.
  • Firebox M Series[9]Firebox M Series rackmount appliances provide NGFW features.
  • Endpoint Security 360[11]WatchGuard Endpoint Security 360 is an autonomous zero trust endpoint detection and response solution.
  • AuthPoint[7][12][13]WatchGuard AuthPoint provides cloud-based authentication and access to applications.
  • Total Identity Security[13]Total Identity Security combines AuthPoint MFA with Dark Web Credential Monitoring.
  • WatchGuard Cloud[1][5][7][9][13]WatchGuard Cloud is built for MSPs and gives one place to deploy, standardize, monitor and report across all customers.
  • Compliance Reporting[15]WatchGuard Compliance Reporting offers configurable compliance controls and reports for regulatory needs.
Categories
Headquarters
San Francisco, United States[2]Seattle, United States[4]
Founded
2009[2]Not stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Public (NASDAQ: OKTA)[3][12][14][16]Owned by Vector Capital since 2022[6]
Named customers
Not stated on its pages
Recent news
  • November 5, 2026Okta announced that its board approved a share repurchase program authorizing purchases of up to $1 billion of its Class A Common Stock, effective immediately.[18]
  • September 22, 2026Okta launched new Okta for AI Agents capabilities, including endpoint discovery of unmanaged agents, an agent gateway and agent-to-agent connection controls.[9]
  • August 26, 2026Okta reported second quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $805 million, up 11% year over year, with subscription revenue of $793 million.[10]
  • July 30, 2026Okta signed a definitive agreement to acquire Permiso Security, a cloud identity threat detection company covering human, non-human and AI agent identities.[11]
  • March 7, 2026Okta and Datadog added rules from the Okta Security Detection Catalog to Datadog's Cloud SIEM out-of-the-box detections for identity-related threats.[15]
  • July 7, 2026WatchGuard Technologies appointed Vincent Hwang as Chief Product Officer, reporting to CEO Joe Smolarski.[16]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 10, 2026[16]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: listed, seen October 30, 2026[6]
Who it fits
From its own pages, Okta addresses organizations securing AI agents, whether those organizations deploy third-party solutions or code agents from scratch. Okta speaks to security teams that need control to contain blast radius and to builders who delegate user authority. Okta places its AI agent security stack across workforce and customer identity use cases. Okta addresses businesses that pursue agentic commerce or offer B2B agentic experiences. Okta's identity offering covers employees, partners and AI agents across an entire business. Okta describes an offering built for enterprise scale and global compliance standards.WatchGuard delivers its security to businesses exclusively through managed service provider and reseller partners. Businesses receive protection configured and managed for them by a local WatchGuard partner. WatchGuard describes its devices as suited to securing branch offices, distributed networks and large data centers. WatchGuard secure access points are described for small offices, retail locations, schools, warehouses and outdoor deployments. WatchGuard Endpoint Security 360 is described as suited to organizations and MSPs.
Last verified
September 27, 2026September 27, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Okta and WatchGuard Technologies are both filed under Workforce IAM and SSO.
  • Both are headquartered in the United States.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Okta's primary category is Workforce IAM and SSO; WatchGuard Technologies's is Firewalls and NGFW.
  • Okta is also filed under Customer identity and access management. WatchGuard Technologies is also filed under Identity threat detection and response and EDR and XDR.
  • Okta lists Okta for AI Agents and Cross App Access. WatchGuard Technologies lists Unified Security Platform, Firebox M Series, Endpoint Security 360, AuthPoint, Total Identity Security and 2 more.
  • Okta is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. WatchGuard Technologies is headquartered in Seattle, United States.
  • Okta was founded in 2009.
  • Okta is a public company listed on NASDAQ as OKTA. WatchGuard Technologies is owned by Vector Capital, since 2022.
  • Okta publicly names Box, HubSpot, Hitachi, News Corp and Jamf.

What it sells: WatchGuard Technologies

What Firebox M Series does[9]
Firebox M Series rackmount appliances provide NGFW features. Firebox rackmount appliances integrate with WatchGuard Cloud and ThreatSync and offer centralized management and AI-powered XDR correlation.
What Endpoint Security 360 does[11]
WatchGuard Endpoint Security 360 is an autonomous zero trust endpoint detection and response solution that blocks unknown applications automatically and continuously monitors trusted applications for signs of compromise. WatchGuard Endpoint Security 360 provides visibility into blocked executions, compromised trusted applications and the progression of attacks across endpoints.
What AuthPoint does[7][12][13]
WatchGuard AuthPoint provides cloud-based authentication and access to applications. AuthPoint MFA supports push, passkeys, TOTP, QR codes, hardware tokens and zero trust policies. AuthPoint is managed in WatchGuard Cloud, which configures policies, synchronizes users and enforces controls from one interface.
What Total Identity Security does[13]
Total Identity Security combines AuthPoint MFA with Dark Web Credential Monitoring. WatchGuard continuously monitors workforce user credentials across dark web, deep web and breach databases using AI-driven intelligence, and can alert affected end users directly. WatchGuard Cloud lets MSPs manage MFA and credential monitoring across customer accounts.
What WatchGuard Cloud does[1][5][7][9][13]
WatchGuard Cloud is built for MSPs and gives one place to deploy, standardize, monitor and report across all customers. ThreatSync XDR is part of WatchGuard Cloud and correlates activity across WatchGuard security layers. WatchGuard Cloud provides visibility, configuration control and real-time threat monitoring so MSPs can manage network security from anywhere with an Internet connection.
What Compliance Reporting does[15]
WatchGuard Compliance Reporting offers configurable compliance controls and reports for regulatory needs. WatchGuard Compliance Reporting is integrated with WatchGuard NDR and WatchGuard SaaS, delivering over 100 AI-refined network cybersecurity controls. WatchGuard Compliance Reporting includes configurable compliance report templates for ISO-27001, NIST 800-53, NIST 171/CMMC, UK Cyber Essentials, FFIEC, CISA Ransomware Defense, Cyber Insurance Compliance and Supply Chain Compliance.

Questions about Okta and WatchGuard Technologies

What do Okta and WatchGuard Technologies sell?
Okta sells Okta for AI Agents and Cross App Access. WatchGuard Technologies sells Unified Security Platform, Firebox M Series, Endpoint Security 360, AuthPoint, Total Identity Security and 2 more.
Are Okta and WatchGuard Technologies in the same category?
They share Workforce IAM and SSO. Okta's primary category is Workforce IAM and SSO and WatchGuard Technologies's is Firewalls and NGFW.
Where are Okta and WatchGuard Technologies headquartered?
Okta is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. WatchGuard Technologies is headquartered in Seattle, United States.
When were Okta and WatchGuard Technologies founded?
Okta was founded in 2009.
Who owns Okta and WatchGuard Technologies?
Okta is a public company listed on NASDAQ as OKTA. WatchGuard Technologies is owned by Vector Capital, since 2022.
Which customers do Okta and WatchGuard Technologies name?
Okta publicly names Box, HubSpot, Hitachi, News Corp and Jamf.
Who are Okta and WatchGuard Technologies sold to?
From its own pages, Okta addresses organizations securing AI agents, whether those organizations deploy third-party solutions or code agents from scratch. WatchGuard delivers its security to businesses exclusively through managed service provider and reseller partners.
What have Okta and WatchGuard Technologies announced recently?
November 5, 2026: Okta announced that its board approved a share repurchase program authorizing purchases of up to $1 billion of its Class A Common Stock, effective immediately. July 7, 2026: WatchGuard Technologies appointed Vincent Hwang as Chief Product Officer, reporting to CEO Joe Smolarski.

About Okta

Okta sells a platform that secures identities, including the AI agents running across a business. Okta has over 20,000 enterprise customers.[19]

Okta describes AI agents as a new kind of identity. Okta says AI adoption is outpacing controls. Okta names excessive agency, credential sprawl and lack of runtime visibility as the primary security risks of deploying autonomous AI agents, which can allow unmanaged agents to access sensitive enterprise data or execute unauthorized operations.[19]

Okta describes the threat of autonomous agents granted overly broad permissions that let them read, write or execute destructive actions across enterprise tools beyond their intended operational scope. Okta describes malicious or malformed inputs that manipulate an agent into executing unauthorized API calls or exfiltrating data via third-party integrations. Okta describes the threat of compromising an agent's persistent memory or runtime context to alter its behavioral constraints and bypass safety guardrails. Okta describes enterprise teams spinning up unvetted agents with hardcoded, long-lived API keys. Okta says that without identity, most enterprises are left with gaps such as no inventory of which agents exist, who owns them or what they are authorized to do. Okta says that without identity, most enterprises have no record to produce when an auditor asks who authorized an action.[19]

Okta says a named owner tied to a human gives accountability. Okta says permissions enforced at runtime give authorization. Okta says logged actions against a verified identity give an audit trail. Okta says runtime detection, access policies and a kill switch all depend on an identity foundation.[1][19]

Okta for AI Agents extends discovery, lifecycle management and governance to every agent in the enterprise. Okta describes an offering that establishes secure permissions, verifies AI agent identity and audits automated actions. Okta describes tracking each agent, verifying ownership, governing access and shutting down rogue actions in real time. Okta describes verifying the agent, brokering credentials at runtime and logging each tool call without code changes to agents or tools. Okta describes tracing every action, delegating on a user's behalf, or running agents unsupervised, all under one auditable record. Okta describes tools for agentic commerce and for offering B2B agentic experiences at scale.[19]

Okta's AI agent security stack is built around three capabilities across workforce and customer identity use cases. Okta makes the open Cross App Access standard part of core Okta SSO, giving every Okta customer an identity model for AI agents. Okta describes relationship-based access control (ReBAC) that evaluates and enforces permissions at the individual tool-call level in real time. Okta provides a control plane that spans multi-cloud environments, heterogeneous SaaS platforms and custom developer architectures.[19]

Okta describes a single, secure ecosystem for an entire business that keeps employees, partners and AI agents connected. Okta describes an offering built for enterprise scale that centralizes business directories, streamlines access and is aimed at meeting global compliance standards. Okta describes authentication designed to protect user data. Okta has joined a cross-industry coalition to help organizations secure AI and govern the agentic stack. Okta has partnered with other organizations to co-author a blueprint that answers four questions about securing AI agents.[1][13][17][19]

Okta on the record

Sources

Okta full record

  1. [1]okta.comOkta · okta.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]CompanyOkta · okta.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]DefaultOkta Investor Relations · investor.okta.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]okta.comOkta · okta.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]HubspotOkta · okta.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]HitachiOkta · okta.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]News corpOkta · okta.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]okta.comOkta · okta.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Ai innovations oktane 2026Okta · okta.com · published September 22, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Okta announces second quarter 2027 financial resultsOkta · okta.com · published August 26, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Okta signs definitive agreement to acquire permiso securityOkta · okta.com · published July 30, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Secure Identity for Employees, Customers, and AI | OktaOkta · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Okta Security Trust Center | Powered by SafeBaseOkta · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Why Work At Okta? | OktaOkta · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Datadog and Okta Combine for New Customer DetectionsOkta Security · published March 7, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Okta Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier C
  17. [17]Zero Trust Framework: Identity-powered Modern Security | OktaOkta · published August 10, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]Okta Announces $1 Billion Share Repurchase ProgramOkta, Inc. · published November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  19. [19]Okta Secures AI | Identity for the Agentic Enterprise | OktaOkta · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

WatchGuard Technologies full record

  1. [1]watchguard.comWatchGuard Technologies · watchguard.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Watchguard launches new high performance firebox appliances secure modernWatchGuard Technologies · watchguard.com · published June 2, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]vectorcapital.comVector Capital · vectorcapital.com · published July 5, 2022 · Tier A
  4. [4]Dex991WatchGuard Technologies via SEC EDGAR · sec.gov · published July 25, 2006 · Tier A
  5. [5]WatchGuard | Comprehensive Cybersecurity SolutionsWatchGuard Technologies · undated page, accessed October 30, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]WatchGuard Reviews, Ratings & Features 2026 | Gartner Peer InsightsGartner Peer Insights · undated page, accessed October 30, 2026 · Tier C
  7. [7]Centralized Management & Visibility | WatchGuard CloudWatchGuard Technologies · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Managed Security Services for MSPs | WatchGuardWatchGuard Technologies · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Rackmount Firewall Appliances | WatchGuardWatchGuard Technologies · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]WatchGuard Endpoint Security | AI-Powered ProtectionWatchGuard Technologies · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]WatchGuard Endpoint Security 360 - Zero Trust EDRWatchGuard Technologies · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]AuthPoint 30-Day Free Trial | WatchGuard Free AuthPointWatchGuard Technologies · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]AuthPoint Total Identity Security | WatchGuardWatchGuard Technologies · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Secure Wireless APs for Your Business | WatchGuardWatchGuard Technologies · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Compliance Reporting | WatchGuardWatchGuard Technologies · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]WatchGuard Appoints Vincent Hwang as Chief Product OfficerWatchGuard Technologies · published July 7, 2026 · Tier A

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