Workplace apps are becoming all the rage, according to Okta's sixth annual Businesses@Work data report. Okta, which provides Identity as a Service solutions to manage employee and customer access to websites and apps, identified the most popular and fastest-growing workplace apps based on the login activity of its 7,400 customers to more than 6,500 app integrations. "The trend line clearly points to greater adoption across the board--over the past six years, we've seen businesses deploy more apps, for more purposes than ever before," Okta's CEO and co-founder Todd McKinnon writes on the company's blog. Related: Meet the new names in HR This year, the number of apps per customer is up 6 percent from last year, and 10 percent of the company's enterprise customers now use 200 apps or more "to power productive, secure collaboration." "As more businesses build and protect digital experiences for their workforces and customers, we've also seen a gravitation toward technologies that enable choice and flexibility, with a healthy dose of data usability and security," McKinnon writes. "New customers opted for fewer but stronger" authentication "factors, demonstrating a response to 'factor sprawl' and paving a path to a new era of potentially simpler, stronger factor experience." More so than ever before, Okta's enterprise customers are "double-dipping" by purchasing best-of-breed apps in addition to bundles. A significant majority (78 percent) of Okta's Office 365 customers have adopted one or more best-of-breed apps with the same functionality as the Office 365 suite, up from 76 percent last year. "When it comes to the trade-off between a centralized provider and individual solutions, functionality, ease of use and employee needs come first," he writes. In the future, McKinnon expects the launch of more tailored apps to "drive even more efficiency." "No two companies are alike, and the plethora of new apps on the scene will mean more choice and customization for businesses to do their best work," he writes. Check out the most popular and fastest growing apps, as well as the most popular HR tools in the slideshow above. Read more: |

• HR tech vendors: Balancing act between brokers and employers
• High-performing companies turn to technology to recruit
• 4 steps for effective cloud technology integration in HR