AWS Cognito: A good solution for a B2C web/and mobile apps having simple Authentication needs. Not for B2B SaaS use-cases.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use it for Authentication and Authorization of the mobile applications, and middleware that we write for our enterprise customers. We also evaluated it for the use-case of Federated Identity integration to other IDP solutions like Microsoft ActiveDirectory, etc. We also use it to enable MFA on a few web apps.
Pros
- Easy to set-up.
- Easy to configure the UserPools, and the Identity Pools.
- Seamless Integration with AWS services like Lambda, IAM, etc.
- Cheaper than other providers.
Cons
- 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.
Most Important Features
- Identity and Authorisation concepts like UserPools, and Identity Pools.
- Cost Effective for up to 40-50K users.
- Server less and Event Driven Workflows.
Return on Investment
- Faster turnaround to built a quick and fast Authentication and Authorisation system.
- Easy to set-up and monitor.
- Cost Effective. Saved ~20K USD over other products.
Alternatives Considered
The Okta Identity Cloud
Other Software Used
Cloudflare Access, Site24x7 StatusIQ, Slack




