SAML 101: The Leading Standard of Identity Federation

This white paper introduces SAML. It describes why standards like this are necessary for implementing scalable, secure federated identity across organizations. It covers:

• Small-and-Medium-sized Business (SMB) Use Cases for SAML
• Enterprise Use Cases for SAML
• Service Provider Use Cases for SAML
• Cross-comparison with WS-Federation
• How to Use SAML with Other Identity Protocols
  

Both employees and customers need access to your applications. Whether that app is a CRM or payroll application to allow them to do their job, or an eCommerce application to generate revenue, passwords can get in the way costing employee productivity and customer loyalty. Modern enterprises may have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of applications.

The identity federation standard, Security Assertion Markup Language, or SAML, enables single sign-on (SSO) to ensure seamless and secure access for customers and employees. It does this by reusing identities via federation instead of requiring users to manage different identities—and credentials—for each application.

Read this whitepaper to gain a thorough understanding of this enterprise-changing standard.