New Architecture and New Identity, How InStage Leveraged Frontegg for Scalable User Management

About InStage

InStage specializes in conversational AI simulations, honing verbal communication skills vital for today’s professional landscape. Catering to employment service providers and educational entities, their state-of-the-art simulations seamlessly integrate into existing training curriculums and programs, offering a modern twist to traditional role-plays, mock interviews, and presentations. Established in Toronto in 2018, they’re on a mission to revolutionize verbal communication training. Today, with thousands of simulations executed monthly, esteemed institutions like Seneca Polytechnic, University of Toronto, Achev Employment Centre and many more have leveraged InStage’s innovation to empower their workforce and students.

Checkout Instage here: https://instage.io/

Replacing a Legacy Identity Solution

Connor Chau is part of a small product development team at InStage, and found himself in the middle of a massive architecture shift. InStage was transitioning its products from VR-based solutions to a browser-based platform. During this shift, the team decided to move away from its legacy identity solution in favor of something more scalable.

“Our legacy system was limited in scope and functionality. We needed a more robust and feature-rich solution to support our expanding product offerings and diverse client base.” – Connor Chau, Product Developer, InStage

InStage’s legacy homegrown solution’s capabilities:

• Basic password based logins

InStage’s future needs:

• Multi-Tenancy
• MFA
• Role-Based Access Controls
• Comprehensive account and session management
• Verification links

InStage determined that the breadth of new functionality needed exceeded the workload capacity of their lean development team. InStage estimated that it would take 3-4 months of development effort to build a solution internally. In order to provide this new browser based experience, they would need to find an identity provider to help them with this journey.

Evaluation and Implementation of Frontegg

InStage developed a list of must haves when evaluating identity solutions. InStage evaluated tools like Auth0, AWS Cognito, and Frontegg. Based on their requirements Frontegg became the clear frontrunner.

1. Evaluation Criteria:
   • Ease of Use: Clear implementation documentation and ease of integration with their React application were crucial.
   • Multi-Tenancy: The ability to support multiple tenants and allow clients to manage their own users.
   • Security Features: Requirements included MFA, audit logs, and tiered authorization roles.

Implementation and Benefits Realized

InStage’s migration to Frontegg was straightforward, with minimal migration effort needed as new clients were onboarded directly into the new system. The React SDK provided by Frontegg made it easy to integrate user-driven logic and manage user accounts through APIs. With the help of Frontegg, InStage was able to realize the following improvements:

1. Feature Flexibility:
   • The team discovered and utilized various features of FrontEgg as their needs evolved, such as feature flags and admin portal customizations.
   • Implementing features like impersonation and audit logs further enhanced their product without additional development effort.
2. Scalability and Reliability:
   • FrontEgg’s multi-tenant support allowed the company to manage different clients efficiently, enabling clients to handle their user accounts independently.
   • The system’s robustness eliminated the need for active management and development for user management, allowing the team to focus on product development.
3. Future Enhancements:
   • Upcoming integrations with LMS systems (e.g., Blackboard, Moodle) will leverage FrontEgg’s SSO and JWT control features, streamlining user authentication processes for educational clients.

Conclusion

Frontegg provided a scalable, secure, and flexible user management solution that enabled Connor Chau’s team to focus on their core product development. The continuous addition of relevant features by FrontEgg has supported the company’s growth, making it an integral part of their tech stack. The ease of implementation and ongoing support has ensured that their small team can handle the evolving needs of their clients without extensive additional development efforts.