Identity Management For People, Things: Startup Profile

9 iOS, Android Apps to Boost Productivity

ForgeRock sells commercial open-source software that enables identity services such as single sign-on (SSO) and access management. It can manage digital identities for end users as well as applications and devices.

The company has four products. OpenAM is an access management platform that provides authentication, federation, SSO and other identity services. OpenIDM provisions and deprovisions digital identities. OpenIG is an application gateway that integrates legacy apps into the SSO environment and can work with third-party authentication services. OpenDJ is a directory services module that stores and manages identity data, including users and objects.

ForgeRock’s platform is built from open source products originally developed at Sun Microsystems: OpenSSO and OpenDS. ForgeRock supports OpenID Connect, an authentication protocol, and OAuth 2, an authorization framework designed to be used with HTTP.

Because ForgeRock can manage identities for people and things, organizations can associate customer identities with other attributes. This allows companies to customize services for users. Take, for example, an insurance provider.

“My provider has a user ID and password and a whole set of attributes about me,” said Daniel Raskin, VP of Strategy at ForgeRock. “They might have a list of services I bought from them. All of that is stored in an identity data store that they use to deliver personalized services.”

[ What matters more: Technology or people? Read Technology Is A Human Endeavor. ]

Toyota Motor Europe is a ForgeRock customer. It uses OpenAM to manage access to an in-car telematics system called Toyota Touch 2 Go. Built into a dashboard screen, the telematics system offers GPS navigation, traffic updates, and in-car entertainment such as music. OpenAM enables two-factor authentication when users log in to Touch 2 Go.

ForgeRock sells a subscription based on the number of identities being managed. The company declined to offer more pricing specifics.

ForgeRock’s executable software is distributed under a commercial license. ForgeRock also makes the source code available to customers under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL). There is no community version of ForgeRock’s executable software. License details are available here.

Company: ForegeRock

Founded: 2010                                                                                

Funding: $52 million to date

Investors: Accel Partners, Foundation Capital, Meritech Capital Partners, CrossContinentalVentures

Products: OpenAM, OpenIDM, OpenIG, OpenDJ

Principals: Mike Ellis, CEO; Lasse Andresen, co-founder and CTO; Steve Ferris, co-founder and VP services; Jonathan Scudder, co-founder and chief architect; Victor Ake, co-founder and VP customer innovation; Hermann Svoren, co-founder and VP sales.

DNA: ForgeRock’s founders and technology come from Sun Microsystems’ identify platform, prior to Sun’s acquisition by Oracle.

Early Customers: Toyota Motor Europe, the government of Norway, Telecom NZ

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