How to Migrate from Okta, Ping Identity, or homegrown CIAM without disrupting customers

Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) should make your customers’ lives easier, not more complicated. But as businesses grow and security needs evolve, legacy CIAM solutions like Okta, Ping Identity, or even homegrown identity systems often become more of a burden than a benefit. Between rising costs, hidden fees, and increasing complexity, many companies are looking for a simpler, more cost-effective alternative.

That’s where Strivacity comes in. We make CIAM migration painless—helping you move to a modern, user-friendly identity solution without disrupting your customers or IT team. The right migration approach ensures smooth transitions, maintains customer trust, and sets you up for future growth.

Which migration approach is right for you?

Every business has different needs when it comes to migrating customer identities. The best approach depends on your access to password hashes, customer experience goals, and security requirements. Whether you’re migrating from a commercial CIAM provider or a custom-built homegrown solution, here are three proven ways to make the move:

1. Bulk import with password hashes 

For organizations that can access password hashes from their legacy CIAM provider or homegrown system, bulk import offers a one-time, large-scale migration with minimal user impact.

How it works:

• Customer data, including identity information and password hashes, is exported from the legacy system. 
• The data is then imported into Strivacity in bulk. 
• Customers log in as usual—no password reset needed.

Why you’ll love it:

• No disruption: Users keep their passwords, making the transition invisible.
• Fast and efficient: A one-time transfer eliminates headaches and reduces operational complexity. 
• Eliminates legacy system dependencies: Organizations can completely cut ties with the old system, reducing costs and security risks. 

Heads up: Not all CIAM providers make password hashes accessible. If yours does, check which hashing algorithms they support (Strivacity works with SHA256, Drupal-compatible SHA512, SHA1 MD5, Argon2, BCrypt and more).

2. Just-in-Time (JIT) migration 

If you can’t access password hashes, JIT migration lets you move users over gradually as they log in—without forcing password resets.

How it works:

• When a customer logs in, their identity is retrieved from the old system, authenticated, and migrated to Strivacity in real time.
• Passwords remain intact, ensuring users don’t have to reset them.
• Once migrated, all future logins occur within Strivacity, allowing decommissioning of the old system over time.

Why you’ll love it:

• Smooth transition: Customers don’t notice the migration and experience zero disruption 
• Less system strain: Moves users gradually, avoiding IT overload.
• Security-first approach: Passwords are verified before migration.

Considerations: We recommend your old CIAM system stay active for at least 60-90 days while customers transition.

3. Bulk migration without password hashes 

If you can’t access password hashes and need to migrate everyone at once, customers will have to reset their passwords—creating a lot of friction.

Challenges:

• Customer frustration: Customers must reset passwords, which can lead to drop-offs. 
• Higher support costs: IT and customer support teams get swamped with reset requests.
• Increased churn risk: Customers may abandon their accounts rather than go through the reset process. 

Finding the silver lining: While bulk migration without password hashes isn’t ideal, it can be a viable option when executed strategically. It provides a clean slate for security improvements, ensures outdated or compromised credentials are not carried over, and enables organizations to enforce stronger authentication methods like passkeys or MFA. Additionally, a well communicated password reset process can re-engage inactive customers, giving them a fresh experience and improved security. 

While this will take a lot of coordination and planning, with the right customer outreach and support strategy, organizations can turn a necessary reset into an opportunity to build trust and strengthen account security.

Strivacity makes migration easy

Moving to a new CIAM provider doesn’t have to be painful. We’ve built Strivacity to make migration easier. With Strivacity Journey Builder, you get out-of-the-box plug-ins and a low-code approach to orchestrate user flows and manage even the trickiest migration scenarios—without the headaches.

Our Lifecycle Event Orchestration takes things a step further. It lets you validate passwords via REST API, so users don’t have to reset them if password hashes aren’t available. And if password hashes are available, we fully support password hash portability, meaning customers can log in without noticing a thing.

Whether you’re leaving Okta, Ping Identity, or homegrown CIAM, we offer a variety of flexible options that make migration simple, secure, and seamless. Less stress for your IT team, zero frustration for your customers—just a smooth migration that gets you up and running faster.

Download the Strivacity Customer Identity Migration Guide 

Want to see exactly how to migrate off legacy platforms without the headaches? Download our customer identity migration guide for a step-by-step breakdown, expert tips, and essential checklists to ensure a smooth transition.