What is the difference between IDaaS and on-premises IAM?

On-premises IAM runs identity software in your own data center, which you patch, scale, and maintain. IDaaS delivers the same capabilities from the cloud as a managed service, with the provider handling availability, scaling, and updates.

What is the difference between IDaaS and SSO?

SSO is one feature that lets users access many applications with a single login. IDaaS is the broader platform that delivers SSO along with MFA, lifecycle provisioning, directory services, and access policies.

What are examples of IDaaS platforms?

Leading workforce IDaaS platforms include Okta Workforce Identity Cloud, Microsoft Entra, Ping Identity PingOne, OneLogin, and JumpCloud. Auth0 and similar platforms deliver IDaaS for customer-facing applications (CIAM).

A reputable IDaaS provider typically offers stronger security than most organizations can run alone, including phishing-resistant MFA, anomaly detection, and continuous patching. As with any cloud service, you still share responsibility for configuration, access policies, and integration.

What Is IDaaS (Identity-as-a-Service)?

By SWI Community Team · Updated 2026-06-23 · 6 min

IDaaS stands for Identity-as-a-Service: identity and access management delivered from the cloud as a subscription. Instead of installing and running identity servers in your own data center, you use a provider that handles authentication, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and user provisioning for you. It is the cloud-delivery model of IAM.

What IDaaS includes

Authentication and SSO. One login for many applications, using standards like SAML and OpenID Connect.
Multi-factor authentication. Push, one-time codes, and phishing-resistant passkeys.
Lifecycle provisioning. Creating, updating, and removing accounts across connected apps, usually via SCIM.
Directory services. A cloud directory of users and groups, or synchronization with an existing one such as Active Directory.
Access policies. Conditional and risk-based rules that decide when to allow, challenge, or block access.

How it differs from on-premises IAM

The capabilities are similar; the operating model is not. With on-premises IAM you own the servers, the patching, the scaling, and the disaster recovery. With IDaaS the provider runs all of that, and you consume identity through APIs and standard protocols. That shifts effort from infrastructure maintenance to configuration and integration, and it scales elastically as you add users and apps.

Workforce vs customer IDaaS

IDaaS comes in two flavors. Workforce IDaaS secures employees and contractors, emphasizing governance, provisioning, and integration breadth; the leaders are Okta, Microsoft Entra, and Ping. Customer IDaaS, usually called CIAM, secures external users at much larger scale and prioritizes frictionless registration, consent, and privacy.

When IDaaS is the right choice

IDaaS suits almost any organization that wants to avoid running identity infrastructure, needs to connect cloud applications quickly, or wants strong security without a large identity operations team. Very large enterprises with complex legacy estates often combine IDaaS with other components into an identity fabric rather than relying on a single platform. For a comparison of the leading platforms, see our analysis of the top IDaaS platforms and workforce identity platforms.

Frequently asked questions

What is IDaaS?: IDaaS stands for Identity-as-a-Service: cloud-delivered identity and access management. A provider runs authentication, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and user provisioning as a subscription, so you do not operate identity servers yourself.
What is the difference between IDaaS and on-premises IAM?: On-premises IAM runs identity software in your own data center, which you patch, scale, and maintain. IDaaS delivers the same capabilities from the cloud as a managed service, with the provider handling availability, scaling, and updates.
What is the difference between IDaaS and SSO?: SSO is one feature that lets users access many applications with a single login. IDaaS is the broader platform that delivers SSO along with MFA, lifecycle provisioning, directory services, and access policies.
What are examples of IDaaS platforms?: Leading workforce IDaaS platforms include Okta Workforce Identity Cloud, Microsoft Entra, Ping Identity PingOne, OneLogin, and JumpCloud. Auth0 and similar platforms deliver IDaaS for customer-facing applications (CIAM).
Is IDaaS secure?: A reputable IDaaS provider typically offers stronger security than most organizations can run alone, including phishing-resistant MFA, anomaly detection, and continuous patching. As with any cloud service, you still share responsibility for configuration, access policies, and integration.