- TravelPerk was the fastest growing app in EMEA with a 255% YoY increase in customers, followed by Grammarly. The app posted 516% growth in unique users, followed by Salesforce.
- Zero Trust, business supplies, sales and marketing are the priority for European businesses, with HR and analytics tools following closely
- Companies continue to invest in best-of-breed technology with an average of 65 apps per company, a decrease from 2021’s 89 apps per company
Fuelled by the rise of hybrid working, businesses in EMEA are doubling down on cloud-based solutions, more robust security approaches and automation-powered efficiency to ensure safe and sustainable growth in 2023, according to Okta’s ninth annual Businesses at Work report.
The report, which analysed anonymous data from more than 17,000 global customers and over 7,000 integrations through the Okta Integration Network, shows that companies are increasing their spend on priorities like travel and business supplies as their employees strive to connect and be together again in physical and hybrid work environments.
As travel takes off, it’s business as usual
Okta’s three fastest growing app categories indicate a rapidly changing world, with businesses shifting spending to keep pace.
Travel Rebounds
Few industries have seen as much volatility in recent years as travel, as it struggled to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and a shaky global economy. The 2023 Businesses at Work report reveals travel came roaring back in 2022.
- EMEA turned its attention from e-signatures and app development – DocuSign and GitHub, which led last year – to travel booking and expense management.
- TravelPerk was named the fastest growing app with a 255% increase in customers, followed by Grammarly at 159%.
- The latter also recorded a 516% rise in unique users. Salesforce, also atop the list, recorded a 461% increase in unique users.
The EMEA travel apps in Okta’s network cited the strongest year-over-year (YoY) growth of any category, in both customers (+78%) and unique users (197%).
Business Supplies Back Again
Travel’s dominance is a big shift from Businesses at Work 2021, when the fastest growing apps were in business supplies, security, and networking and infrastructure.
While business supplies fell out of the top 10 app categories last year, the 2023 report finds that business is booming once again across the globe. It was the second-fastest-growing category in the past year, with a 35% increase in customers and a 77% increase in unique users.
Design Apps Remain in Demand
The third-fastest-growing app category in Okta’s global network was design, which saw 31% YoY growth in customers. But the top app category in EMEA varies as widely as their spoken languages:
- In the UK, design software grew 27% YoY by number of customers.
- In France, content collaboration leads the way with 63% YoY growth, while the Netherlands favours developer tools, which grew 25%.
- In Germany, similar to elsewhere in Europe, sales and marketing apps take the top spot with a 79% gain.
Security, Collaboration and Efficiency Dominate Tech Growth
Whereas last year the tech sector was all about collaboration (Notion), this year it’s focused on security (Kandji) and meeting management (Calendly). Across all categories, Kandji, an Apple mobile device management company, posted an 172% YoY jump in customers and topped the charts as Okta’s fastest growing app, globally.
In EMEA, Okta continues to see the rise of cloud infrastructure and cloud-based collaboration apps. Microsoft 365 remains the most popular app by number of customers, while Google Workspace is notably No. 2 (ranking higher in EMEA than globally), and AWS is No. 3.
46% of Okta’s Microsoft 365 customers in EMEA also use Google Workspace. Slack use is also increasing among this group, rising to 37% of Okta’s Microsoft 365 customers in EMEA this year. On the other hand, deployment of Zoom increased “only” 1 percentage point, from 34% last year to 35% this year. (See graph below for further detail)
Productivity and Employee Wellbeing in Hybrid Work
Other hot categories in EMEA include HR, and the rise of the HR platform, Bob. Whilst it was outstripped by its rival BambooHR in 2022, Bob delivered chart-topping 90% YoY customer growth and 115% YoY growth in unique users this time around. This demonstrates the increasing importance for employers to create people-first experiences and encourage employee wellbeing.
Embracing Zero Trust and Securing Hybrid Work in EMEA
While supporting hybrid work is a big priority for Okta customers, so is keeping that work secure. Deployment of security tools grew 23% YoY by number of customers and 43% YoY by unique users, globally. This was mirrored in EMEA, where 1Password took the security tools prize with 77% YoY customer growth and 104% YoY growth in unique users. Okta also saw strong growth from developer tool Sentry – 57% YoY customer growth and 175% YoY growth in unique users.
Finally, across the global network, Zero Trust gathered steam. Okta customers are approaching Zero Trust strategically across different perspectives:
- Networks: The use of risk-based policies has grown 147% over the past two years.
- Users: We’ve seen 60% growth in the number of customers implementing WebAuthn, the new global standard for password-free web authentication.
- Devices: The number of customers deploying device-trust configurations grew 21% YoY.
Okta expects to see more best-of-breed app augmentation and growing Zero Trust adoption as companies of all sizes continue or complete their migration to the cloud,
Methodology
This report presents and analyses data from November 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022, which we refer to as “this year,” “today,” and “in 2022.” Similarly, when we refer to “last year” or “in 2021,” we are referring to data from November 1, 2020, to October 31, 2021. “2020” refers to the same period in its respective year. When referring to company size, Okta uses the term “small” to refer to companies with 1,999 or fewer employees and “large” to refer to companies with 2,000 or more employees. Unless otherwise specified, the data included in this report is limited to Okta customers that have deployed at least one app to users through the Okta Integration Network. Also, unless otherwise noted, this report looks at apps deployed for corporate use. This report focuses exclusively on Okta data and does not include Auth0.
Uma Rajagopal has been managing the posting of content for multiple platforms since 2021, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune. Her role ensures that content is published accurately and efficiently across these diverse publications.