What role does Okta typically play in a hybrid deployment with on-premise Exchange?

In a hybrid deployment with on-premise Exchange, Okta typically acts as a directory service. This means that Okta is responsible for managing user identities and providing authentication and authorization for access to various applications, including Exchange.

In this setup, Okta helps to synchronize and manage user accounts between on-premise systems and cloud applications, ensuring that users have a single identity that they can use to access both on-premise Exchange as well as any cloud services. This centralization simplifies user management tasks, such as provisioning and de-provisioning user accounts, and allows for consistent enforcement of security policies across all platforms.

While license management is important, it does not capture the primary function of Okta in this context, which is centered around identity and directory services. Okta does not take control of email hosting or directly manage third-party applications, although it can facilitate access to them by providing the necessary authentication through its directory services.