Okta’s homepage shows how established companies can reframe emerging challenges to position themselves as foundational infrastructure rather than competitive alternatives. The company’s messaging is focused on “The world is changing in this way,” instead of “Here’s what our product does.”
Okta isn’t saying “We’re better at identity management.” They’re saying “Identity management now includes AI security, and here’s why.” They’re expanding what the category means rather than competing within its current boundaries.
That’s a genius approach compared to trying to differentiate within the existing category. That’s the difference between joining a conversation vs. starting the conversation.
This is what positions the company’s product as the natural response to that evolution.
Okta is a US-based SaaS company that provides identity and access management solutions. Founded in 2009, Okta had its initial public offering in 2017. Over time, Okta has expanded through acquisitions such as Auth0 in 2021 and continues to grow its portfolio with a focus on workforce identity, customer identity, governance, and emerging markets like non-human identity.
Most SaaS homepages follow a predictable, linear pattern: here’s what we do, here’s how we do it better (benefits, outcomes), and here’s the proof it works. Okta flips this entirely by leading with market evolution rather than product differentiation.
If you looked at the hero section, you’d see that Okta doesn’t lead with “We provide identity management solutions.” Instead, the hero section opens with “Okta secures AI. And every other identity - from machine to human.”
This single line accomplishes something remarkable: it positions AI security, or the emerging challenge everyone is worried about, as simply the latest application of Okta’s foundational expertise.
This isn’t accidental.
Okta is actively reframing what AI security means. Instead of letting it become a separate category they’d have to compete in, they’re defining it as an identity problem they already solve.
Okta’s essentially saying: “While you’re panicking about this new AI security problem, we’ve been building the infrastructure that solves it for over a decade.”
The genius appears in their second-fold messaging: “To get AI agent security right, you have to get identity right. This creates a dependency hierarchy where:
Okta reframes AI security as an identity problem, making themselves the prerequisite rather than a competitor in a new category. It’s like saying: “You can’t build a skyscraper without a foundation, and we’re the foundation company.”
Next, notice how organically the company presents both of its products (Okta and Auth0) without confusion or lengthy explanations. This reveals sophisticated portfolio messaging that only works when you have genuine market authority.
Okta can afford to show complexity because it’s operating in a mature market, where the audience understands the distinction between workforce identity (Okta) and customer identity (Auth0).
The Fortune 100 logos and McLaren case study aren’t positioned as typical “trust indicators.” Instead, they function as proof that sophisticated organizations already understand this identity-first approach to emerging challenges.
The McLaren example is particularly clever: “100% growth in number of partner users being onboarded” suggests that even high-performance organizations are scaling identity challenges rapidly, reinforcing that this isn’t a niche problem.
The “Read. Watch. Learn.” section demonstrates how Okta uses content to own the intellectual space around these evolving challenges. They’re not just offering solutions, but shaping how the market thinks about the problems.
Notice the move happening here: Okta could have launched an “AI security product” to compete in the emerging AI security space. Instead, they reframe AI security challenges as identity management challenges, problems they’ve already solved. This transforms a competitive threat into a market expansion opportunity.
This approach only succeeds when you have:
For early-stage companies, this would come across as presumptuous. For Okta, it reinforces their position as the infrastructure layer that enables everything else.
