corporate
2020/12/10
 
10 Dec, 2020 | 3 min read

It’s WSO2 Identity Server’s 13th Anniversary

  • Geethika Cooray
  • Vice President & Head of the IAM BU - WSO2

… and the product’s best year so far!

2020 has been a mixed bag. Covid has changed how everyone does business, and, in many ways, how everyone lives their lives. If it wasn’t previously, it’s definitely clear now that going online and digital is the way forward.

Today, we celebrate the 13th year since WSO2 Identity Server was first released as the identity and access management (IAM) component of WSO2’s platform for digital transformation.

In many ways, it seems like the past 13 years—and especially the increased investment into the product during the last few years—has positioned us perfectly for accelerated growth, both during 2020 and into 2021 and beyond.

To celebrate the product’s 13th anniversary, here are some highlights from this year:

  • Highest ever new customer acquisitions within a calendar year. Yes, on the back of Covid-related budget cuts and reductions into most new investments, we’re excited to have increased our global new customer acquisition rate by over 50% and achieved the highest number of new IAM customers within a year.
  • WSO2 Identity Server was named a ‘Strong Performer’ by Forrester. For the very first time, we were included in the Forrester Wave™: Customer Identity Access Management, Q4 2020, and the results showcase our strength in terms of customer authentication; privacy, consent management and profiling; and much more. If you haven’t already, you can read the report here.
  • KuppingerCole named WSO2 Identity Server an ‘Overall Leader’ in its CIAM Leadership Compass. This helps strengthen our position within the CIAM space as the ‘go-to’ product for CIAM. Ours is truly a developer-centric offering—especially when you consider scalability, extensibility, and the use of open standards. You can read the full report here.
  • Significant upgrades to the Developer Console UI with version 5.11. The new React-based UI in our latest release gives developers a far superior experience, backed by the addition of new SDKs for Android, .Net, and Java. Check out the release notes to find out more, or better yet, download the product here (FYI: you can freely use it for evaluation purposes).
  • The rapid growth of our IAM community. Given our open-source background, helping our developer community is ingrained in our culture. 2020 saw our IAM community grow by leaps and bounds on platforms like Slack (which grew by almost 14x), our IAM for Developers Meetup groups, and Twitter. We’ve also had a significant increase in the number of attendees for our monthly community calls.
  • The highest growth in partner-led IAM ARR. WSO2’s expansive partner network excelled on the IAM front this year, helping us to sign up more than 66% of our new customers, enter into 7 new countries, and issue almost 5x the number of WSO2 Identity Server certifications during 2019. You can find out more about our partner program here.
  • A spike in interest to OEM WSO2 Identity Server. Given the open-source nature of our product, WSO2 Identity Server becomes an ideal solution for any digitally-driven company looking to build in CIAM functionality into B2B/B2B2C solutions. 2020 saw a significant increase in interest from such organizations. Watch this short clip and find out more here.

Thank You

We owe a great deal to so many who have been a part of this journey. I’d like to extend a special thank you to:

  • Our customers and prospects who have helped to fuel our growth and partnered with us in our journey to build industry-defining technology.

  • Our channels and partner network for your contribution towards spreading the word and supporting our customers, while helping accelerate our growth.

And most importantly,

  • To our amazing IAM team. We’re so grateful for your hard work and commitment, which in my humble opinion, is the sole reason for all our success this past year. It certainly hasn’t been easy having to plan, collaborate, and execute 100% remotely while being socially distant from your friends and family—but you make it look easy!

Not forgetting, the rest of WSO2 who enable us to do what we do—all of you are awesome!

Looking Ahead

2020 turned out to be a great year, but 2021 is already shaping up to be the most exciting year yet, with new product releases, updates to positioning and branding, growth of our global team, and much more.

Keep an eye out for us; our journey is just getting off the ground.

Undefined