Migrating off of Cognito to Best-in-Class DX

Summary

During its startup phase, Pay.com.au began with a rudimentary auth implementation with Amazon Cognito. When Roi Avidan began to set the technical direction for high growth, he realized that the future architecture would need two key components:

1. An identity management service that could handle a multidimensional account schema; and
2. Developer-focused infrastructure that could grow with Pay.com.au

Roi found the ideal solution in Userfront, an authentication and identity platform offering key features and a collaborative approach.

This case study explores Pay.com.au’s successful migration from Amazon Cognito to Userfront, highlighting the challenges, solution, and approach.

Challenge

To deliver the next stage of their startup, Pay.com.au needed developer-first auth that was easier to work with and scaled to meet their growing customers' demands.

Startups often take a break after success to plan their next move and Pay.com.au needed a flexible auth and identity system to build the next set of features. The available enterprise solutions didn’t fit their budget, feature set, or their developer-focused, agile process. Pay felt that larger companies often squeeze everyone into the same funnel, but startups need options and partners willing to build something new for their unique product.

Pay.com.au wanted a hosted solution that provided the authentication and user management, as well as support for their complex pipeline. On the functionality side, they required the login basics, but also needed multi-user/multi-account capabilities: the ability to manage multiple businesses with one login, and the flexibility for a single user to belong to multiple businesses. Also, they needed a solution that integrated with their existing auditing infrastructure and that offered webhooks for automation.

Essentially, Pay needed a powerful, developer-friendly system with flexibility and control over user access. After reviewing several companies in the authentication space, Roi was about ready to build his own solution, when he came across Userfront’s feature list, APIs, and SDK. He reached out and discussions began.

Roi decided to go with Userfront because it checked his boxes:

• Key authentication features
• Focus on interoperability
• Customizable API endpoints
• Migration specialists
• Data import and export
• Developer-first tech stack
• Pricing for startups and enterprise

Solution

Pay.com.au went with Userfront’s ready-made auth platform, migration expertise, and developer-focused customer support.

As a payment platform, security was paramount for Pay.com.au. Userfront’s flexible multi-factor authentication ensured an extra layer of protection. Userfront's APIs were robust and adaptable, which was crucial for innovation as Pay scaled. Roi's team used custom webhooks to further streamline their infrastructure and automate much of their stringent auditing process.

Reliability was equally crucial for Roi, and Userfront’s backup instances offered reassurance against downtime.

Cost-conscious as any startup, Pay.com.au balked at the enterprise price tags of other auth solutions. Cost wasn’t the only draw though: Userfront allowed Pay.com.au serve a full spectrum of customers, from freemium SMB to Enterprise.

But what truly won Pay.com.au over was Userfront's support and human touch. When it came time to implement the integration points between Pay.com.au and Userfront, there was no impersonal support funnel, here–Userfront fostered real relationships. Face-to-face support experiences, collaborative problem-solving, and a genuine desire to find common ground. Userfront understood that success meant moving forward together, and that resonated deeply with the startup’s spirit. In Userfront, Pay.com.au found not just a solution, but a teammate on their growth journey.

Migration Approach

Pay.com.au’s primary concerns around migration were a smooth, user-unaware migration, and a rollback option in case of issues.

After a successful Proof of Concept (PoC) showcasing Userfront’s capabilities, Pay embarked on a collaborative migration process.

Key Actions:

• Planned migration: Aligned Userfront implementation with pay.com.au’s infrastructure and security requirements.
• Proof of Concept: Established Userfront’s suitability through a functional test (creating users, logins, and tenant assignments).
• Leveraged Userfront tools: Utilized Userfront’s migration tools, SDK, and webhooks for custom integration and audit trails.
• Collaborative development: Worked closely with Userfront to address specific needs like custom email auditing.
• Secure data transfer: Employed Userfront’s secure migration tools to transfer user data and maintain account integrity.

Result

Pay.com.au's migration from Amazon Cognito to Userfront was seamless and transparent to users.

No users noticed any disruption, and after a 90-day transition period, a small number of non-migrated users were able to reset their passwords when they get around to visiting the site.

Key Outcomes:

• Achieved multi-user, multi-account functionality
• Pay.com.au now able to establish complex user relationships leveraging Userfront’s auth and identity platform
• Production-ready platform built upon the successful PoC: Pay.com.au now operates on a robust and scalable authentication system
• Efficient user data migration: Userfront successfully and securely imported user data from the previous system
• Enhanced security: Pay.com.au benefits from Userfront’s robust security features and custom auditing capabilities