cidaas the best alternative to Keycloak
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In the following we compare cidaas – the leading European Cloud Identity & Access Management from Germany, and Keycloak a well-known open-source solution for Single Sign-On. We show why cidaas is the best alternative to Keycloak and the differences between cidaas vs. Keycloak with a view to the added value in the range of functions, the advantage of cidaas as a modern software-as-a-service solution (SaaS) in operation, or the clear higher speed and time-to-market through a ready-to-use SaaS solution. For companies that already use Keycloak, we also show how a migration path from Keycloak to cidaas can look like.
SaaS or all-round carefree – cidaas the best alternative to Keycloak
Keycloak is an open-source solution developed and maintained primarily by Redhat. Like any other open-source solution, Keycloak offers little or no support for both integration and operation of the solution. In contrast, cidaas convinces with first-class support and an extensive partner network, in addition to its own advisory services for the best support during operation as well as during the integration of cidaas into diverse applications. Another distinguishing feature of cidaas in contrast to Keycloak is the Software as a Service offer, whereas with Keycloak you are responsible for the operation yourself; cidaas offers an all-round carefree package. Not only that one does benefit from not having to worry about the infrastructure, but also the entire operations hurdles are eliminated. A modern Single Sign-On solution requires 24×7 operation, which binds several experts with the necessary expertise, which is not only expensive, but one often fails to find suitable resources to run 24×7 operation 365 days a year, taking vacation, sickness and more into account.
Feature-complete and future-proof – cidaas the best alternative to Keycloak
However, cidaas’ real strengths lie in its range of functions. Aside from the standard Single Sign-On, Keycloak offers a few functions on top. However, cidaas is characterized by an extensive set of functions, starting with a large number of authentication options for passwordless and multi-factor authentication, group management for mapping B2B and Family & Friends scenarios, as well as sophisticated consent management for recording consents from users, e.g., on terms and conditions and data protection regulations, for GDPR compliance, as part of the cidaas platform. Innovative functions such as real-world identification for linking real and digital identities or the AutoIdent procedure – cidaas ID validator – are also future-focused functions offered by cidaas.
What makes cidaas different from Keycloak?
The most important differences between cidaas and Keycloak are summarised in the table below. The most important points to look at when choosing the right Single Sign-On solution are support, operations, feature completeness and future readiness. In all 4 points, cidaas is convincing and clearly outperforms Keycloak in all categories. Therefore, cidaas is the best alternative to Keycloak.
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The setup costs of an open-source solution are often underestimated. While cidaas allows you to get started with a free plan that is available immediately, Keycloak requires you to set up your own environment, which takes an expert at least a few hours and often several days. In the worst case, the set-up fails, or you end up with a software landscape that is not optimal and difficult to manage. A Software as a Service solution offers the easiest way to get started here, no tedious setup of an environment, no maintenance, and no operation, you only use the required functions.
The migration path from Keycloak to cidaas
Over the time we have already carried out many migrations from Keycloak to cidaas, as customers often want to take advantage of a Software as a Service solution and the added value of the comprehensive cidaas platform. The migration path includes 3 steps:
- Setting up the cidaas environment and configuring the functions as desired.
- Migration of user data from Keyloak to cidaas. Due to the wide variety of migrations, we have an out-of-the-box migration here with which the user data can be migrated easily.
- Integration of cidaas into the applications. Since cidaas and Keycloak use OAuth2 and OpenID Connect for the integration, an easy exchange is also possible here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I need a Keycloak alternative?
Keycloak is an open source solution for single sign-on that is essentially developed by Redhat. With an open source solution, customers are responsible for both support and operation of the solution themselves. In addition, Keycloak offers few features on top besides single sign-on, whereas leading software-as-a-service providers, such as cidaas, can play to their strengths with an extensive feature set.
Why cidaas is the best keycloak alternative?
cidaas offers its customers an all-round carefree package as a software-as-a-service, so that customers are supported with first-class support and do not have to worry about operations. However, cidaas can show its actual strengths especially in the scope of functions. However, cidaas is characterized by a comprehensive set of features, starting from a variety of authentication options for passwordless and multi-factor authentication, a group management for mapping B2B and Family & Friends scenarios, as well as a sophisticated consent management for capturing users’ consents, and many other innovative features, are part of the cidaas platform.
What is the difference between cidaas a Software-as-a-Service offering and Keycloak-as-a-Service?
In recent years, a number of vendors have addressed the problem of Keycloak as an open source solution for self-hosting, creating Keycloak-as-a-Service. Essentially, this addresses the problems around the operation and support of an open source solution, which eliminates the key advantage of Keycloak as a “free” product, and often even leads to higher costs than other software-as-a-service offerings. More serious, however, is the aspect that the lack of functionality and thus future readiness is not solved, or only solved to a limited extent, by Keycloak-as-a-Service, since the core always remains Keycloak with its limited functionality. (Keycloak-as-a-Service – Open-Source Vendor-LockIn?)
cidaas – Cloud Identity & Access Management (Cloud IAM)
- Focus on user-friendly management of digital identities in any form.
- Unique, secure user experience with modern 2-factor authentication
- GDPR-compliant, customizable consent management.
