THE CLIENT CHALLENGE:
Overcoming Blockers to Adopt Microsoft Entra
As global software provider for health and wellness services and applications with a total of 2,400 employees, strong security architecture for software development and the associated supporting IT environment are essential to success. Unfortunately, the path to cohesive, manageable security often isn’t linear and this client found their current state to be lacking.
Through a series of thorough and thoughtful discussions, Cyclotron worked closely with the client to understand their current-state security posture, desired end-state, and the hurdles in between. During these discussions, the client recognized the transformative potential of upgrading to Microsoft 365 E5 licenses and chose to upgrade for the total corporate environment – But their security journey didn’t end here.
As part of the follow-up E5 deployment, the client discovered they could also replace their existing Identity Provider, Okta, with Microsoft Entra to gain significant benefits. But a fragmented identity structure was standing in the way:
- Users were currently split between Entra and Okta. Okta covered 600 users, while Entra covered the remaining corporate environment of ~1800 users.
- Applications were sourced from Okta, and identities were federated with AWS. Migration would incorporate moving users and apps from both Okta and AWS to make the client successful.
- Okta migration was perceived as a costly project, anticipated to take a significant amount of time even with professional help.
- Migration would require significant technical expertise and labor investment due to their current adoption of Okta Verify, YubiKeys, and other technical dependencies.
Cyclotron helped the client understand how consolidating to Entra would bring significant cost savings, enable key security objectives, and unify the IT environment for more reliable, consistent security coverage.
Soon after, Cyclotron began working closely with Microsoft to fulfill the E5 upgrade promise and plan adoption of the Entra platform for the client. Meanwhile, Cyclotron was developing its own custom solution to solve for this challenging, yet common client scenario.
THE SOLUTION
to Complex Okta to Entra Migrations
Enter Cyclotron Beam, the world’s first IDP migration platform, specifically designed to migrate Okta users, groups, and applications to Microsoft Entra with greater speed and accuracy.
Cyclotron Beam was custom designed by Cyclotron’s in-house development team, incorporating both Microsoft and client feedback, to help clients overcome common blockers for IDP migration, enabling them to unlock a more comprehensive and cohesive security posture without the prohibitive upfront costs, lengthy timeframes, and tedious manual labor.
$1M+ COST SAVINGS
the #1 most reported goal of Okta to Entra migration, but large migration costs often make it infeasible. Cyclotron Beam demonstrates a typical cost reduction of 50% for migration efforts, often resulting in over $1m of savings.
60% TIME SAVINGS
moving from Okta to Entra compared to manual migration, dramatically accelerating migration to complete before Okta renewal dates.
99% ERROR REDUCTION
preventing migration issues and creating a positive experience for adopting the Entra platform.
As of June 2025, over 250,000 Okta seats and 4,000 applications have been licensed for migration to Microsoft Entra using Cyclotron Beam for clients across Financial Services, Health & Life Sciences, Software Development, and more. With assessments underway to migrate over 280,000 Okta seats and 8,100 applications to Microsoft Entra, Beam continues toto be the top choice for industry leaders looking to migrate to Microsoft Entra. Why? Because Cyclotron Beam leverages sophisticated algorithms and automations that ensure a simpler path to faster, more secure, and affordable migration migration.
Automatic discovery of both Okta and Entra tenants to create a full migration inventory and discover deltas that could lead to migration issues
Automated remediation features to unify and mirror tenant configurations across groups, users, and attributes
Wizard-based, automated app staging to ensure a predictable app migration experience
Guided migration workflows to address areas that require manual human intervention, such as steps that require uploading of certificates in thirdparty app portals, or other hands-on requirements
Post-migration cleanup to ensure end-user experiences reflect a unified Entra identity whether accessed from Entra’s app portal or Okta’s portal.
USING CYCLOTRON BEAM
to Unblock the Client’s Migration
With a new motivation to migrate from Okta to Entra and a feasible migration path using Cyclotron Beam, the client accepted Cyclotron’s offer, including Microsoft ECIF funding, to conduct the comprehensive migration using Cyclotron Beam. This project included total environment discovery across the Okta users, groups, and application estate, simplified IT design, and hands-on app migration, leveraging Cyclotron Beam automation for all these activities.
The client was able to provide end-users in Okta and AWS with a smooth migration experience and ensure successful adoption of Microsoft capabilities.
CLIENT IMPACT:
Migration Outcomes
The the client migration began in January 2025 and completed in June 2025, exceeding client timeline expectations. the client has already seen major benefits from adopting the Entra stack.
- Significant cost savings: The client is no longer renewing Okta as all dependencies on Okta have been removed, resulting in major cost savings for IT Spend.
- Unified security policy, user experience, and application experience by consolidating Okta and AWS identity use to Entra: the client has simplified its IT environment by consolidating from 3 identity vendors to 1, centralizing on the Microsoft identity and security stack, establishing their production Microsoft 365 environment as the single source-of-truth for all identity moving forward.
- Error-free migration: Using Cyclotron Beam, the client experienced an error-free migration, guided by Cyclotron Beam’s automated pre-migration warnings, remediation features, and the diligence of the Cyclotron Architects overseeing this migration.
- User-friendly migration: Cyclotron Beam’s User Heatmap feature enabled the client to predict the best times to migrate applications that would avoid impacting end-user experiences, especially during periods of high app usage.
- Timeline improvements: Cyclotron Beam enabled a faster migration path, saving over 8 months of estimated migration timeline in the total project timeline.
- Enablement of MFA with Microsoft Authenticator: Cyclotron guided migration from Okta Verify to Microsoft Authenticator, enabling the organization to benefit from integrated Entra features including Passkey authentication and MAM integration.
- App migrations: Cyclotron Beam and our professional services team helped dramatically accelerate application migration activities for over 200 applications, including SAML apps, custom OIDC, bookmarks, SCIM provisioning settings, and more. In addition, Cyclotron worked with the client to identify stale or unused applications
- Opportunity for Entra Suite: With unified Entra identity, Entra Suite capabilities become much more valuable to the client, increasing likelihood of adoption.
FROM THE CLIENT:
Their Experience with Beam
This client was one of the first to adopt Cyclotron Beam features, and their experience with the platform has been stellar. Hear how the client’s Senior Technical Program Manager describes her experience with Cyclotron’s solution:
Specifically, the client highlighted the value of Cyclotron Beam’s automation and tracking features: