Amazon Cognito vs. SecurID

Well Suited

1. B2C mobile and web apps with a high number of users.
2. Cheaper and cost-effective.
3. If the other pieces of the infra are already using AWS services like Lambda, S3, Pinpoint, etc.

Not Suited For:

1. Advanced use-cases (Biometrics based authentication) Email, and other MFA channels.
2. For any use-cases needing SCIM.
3. Customized flows of SSO, and MFA will need a layer on Lambda and other AWS services.

Incentivized

Works well in a large organization with many employees and devices but may not work so well in smaller organizations due to alternatives that are cheaper and are already provided (such as Microsoft's Azure MFA). Using the soft token is easy and convenient. For a large environment, It has allowed us to have a single app used for authentication for all of our various users, and using the soft token is easy and convenient.

Incentivized

• Strong integration with React.js and client-side applications
• Easy to bridge Cognito identities with the rest of the AWS ecosystem
• Easy to store user profile data directly in Cognito rather than having to build additional services/endpoints
• Easy integration with AWS Lambda to extend and add sophistication to the service

Incentivized

• RSA SecurID allows me to access network files from remote locations (hotels, other businesses, working from home). This allows me greater productivity and helps me with a work-life balance as I can work later at night or not get so backed up when I'm traveling.
• RSA SecurID keeps information secure by limiting access to network files
• RSA SecurID is easy to use with a soft token - one less item to carry around in my travel bag

Incentivized

• SCIM implementation is not present.
• B2B SaaS use-cases are very hard to configure. More suitable or B2C use-cases.
• Needs more recipes, plugins, SDK's.
• 2FA with Email as an OTP channel is not supported.
• 2 FA using biometrics is not available; can be customised using lambda.

Incentivized

• The Android application cannot be easily returned to the original code (if you chose to move to the next code).
• If misconfigured, it can lock an administrator out of a server.
• The look and feel of the RSA control center status bar application have a dated feel.

Incentivized

Long story short, does the job. Can use company credentials to setup and access the account for SecurID. Easy to setup and implement. Doesn't have a high learning curve.

Incentivized

All the features AWS Cognito offers gives the user the options they need without making it too complicated. Your customers will be happy. On the administration site usability is also great. After a small learning curve, you can setup Cognito for your usage

Incentivized

Using it very frequently, it's important that its straight forward and I do not have to go through unnecessary hoops to achieve something seemingly simple. Can setup using the company credentials and do not have to setup up a separate account. Setup was fast and easy. GUI is very straight forward and quick.

Incentivized

AWS Support overall is poor. Your main resources are trainings and the docs, and the docs can be very confusing. Using Cognito well involves having a developer learn it deeply and help support your team in understanding it. That said, Cognito's competitors also have dismal support and even worse documentation, so while this isn't a strength for Cognito it may still be the frontrunner here.

Incentivized

Their support for onboarding and set-up is quite good. The only issues we tend to have are obtaining new user devices. These need to be planned ahead of time.

Incentivized

They are ideal tools to create a secure and unique login experience for our applications. Thanks to its API authorization, Amazon Cognito ensures connections to applications that are secure.It is easy to use and provides easy access to files and applications that you need to complete your goal.

Incentivized

RSA SecureID is still widely deployed and the de facto industry standard for 2nd factor authentication. Microsoft Azure offers alternative 2nd factor auth but the price was too high. We are still testing Citrix NetScaler offering with CloudBridge for 2nd factor auth and SMS code to user mobile device so it is yet to be seen as a viable alternative to RSA.

Incentivized

• Amazon Cognito has had a positive impact on our business by allowing us to develop services that require user sign-up and sign-in more rapidly. Not only do we not need to build or maintain these features, but Cognito's implementation is also better than what we would be justified in building ourselves.
• Amazon Cognito makes user management easy. This reduces the time we have to spend supporting users. Non-technical product managers can even use the AWS Console to manage users without requiring support from developers.
• Amazon Cognito is likely more secure than what would be built in-house; a portion of our attack surface is now managed by Amazon.

Incentivized

• We are pleased with our implementation of RSA Authentication Manager. The deployment process went smooth without many issues.
• Administration and troubleshooting are very easy using the GUI console.
• There is enough good quality documentation, training, and online forums are available for our team to refer to in case of any technical issues.

Incentivized